China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #24: “Libya Looming: Key strategic implications for China of unrest in the Arab World and Iran”
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Libya Looming: Key strategic implications for China of unrest in the Arab World and Iran,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 24 (22 February 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
As violence flares in Libya and elsewhere across the Arab countries and Iran, we see a number of core interests that China will look to maintain. These include physical safety of PRC citizens in these countries, as well as energy security concerns, which could become especially significant if Iran’s Green Movement protests against the ruling regime spark national unrest on a par with that which occurred in Egypt or that which is now gripping Libya. Some Chinese responses, such as tighter controls on Internet content and phone text messaging, have been widely covered. Others have not received as much media attention: for example, the potential need to mount additional evacuations of PRC citizens in the Middle East or potential domestic unrest in Xinjiang, an issue The Economist recently touched upon, as well as in Tibet. … … …
