ABSTRACT
The chapter concerns the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) participation in the Global War on Terror (GWoT). The focus here is on the perennial issue of unrest in Xinjiang. This issue was securitized as a threat of counter-revolution and separatism until its inclusion as terrorism when the PRC started the macrosecuritization of the war on terror in September 2001. This securitization has had several functions domestically and internationally. While the initial phases of joining the macrosecuritization can be seen as opportunistic, it appears that the relevance of it has increased during the last decade as the PRC escalated its ‘stability maintenance’ in the region to the level of internment camps. This is also evident in its international counterterrorism activities, which have been increasing.
