China joins war on ISIS after deaths of four Chinese citizens

China declared yesterday that it will officially join the fight against ISIS after the group executed or "inadvertently" killed four Chinese citizens this week. Two days ago, an ISIS terrorist attack on a Mali hotel killed at least 19 people, many of whom were international citizens; 3 of the dead were Chinese businessmen. Additionally, ISIS also executed two long-held prisoners: Fan Jinghui, a Beijing native, and Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad, a Norwegian man. Both men had been published in ISIS' official magazine as "for sale," but the group released a statement saying that negotiations with "kafir" (non-Muslim) nations and organizations had fallen through, and both were executed. President Xi Jinping spoke out strongly against the incidents, saying that China would proceed to entrench itself with the international community in order to crack down on the terrorist organization.

If China follows through on its promises, it would be a huge addition to the existing coalition of major world powers vowed to engage in war against ISIS; indeed, China would be the last of the UN's permanent security council members to join the fight, alongside the U.S., Russia, Britain, and France. China has a massive military force which would make a substantial impact in the war, with over 2 million active personnel on duty. So far, however, China has not said anything about joining the system of airstrikes being carried out by the other major powers. It has also been reluctant thus far to put boots on the ground, despite Beijing loudly pushing for increased Chinese involvement in the physical war. China has a very muddy relationship with other world powers, so it will be interesting to see how this new cooperation will play out. As history has shown us, though, nothing makes stronger bonds between powerful nations like a common enemy.

Samantha Johnson