China on Thursday called on the United States to return "Chinese Muslim terrorists" held at Guantanamo Bay, instead of sending them to the Pacific island nation of Palau.

"The 17 Uygurs are members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which is on the United Nations list of terrorist groups and China holds the unswerving stand that the US should stop handing over the terrorists to any third country, so as to expatriate them to China at an early date," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news briefing.

"China urges the US to implement the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions and its international obligations on counter-terrorism," Qin said.

The 17 Uygurs being released to Palau are from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They were among 22 Uygurs captured by US forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001 and subsequently taken to the detention base at Guantanamo Bay. Four have already been released and resettled in Bermuda, it was announced yesterday.

After years of confinement at Guantanamo, the US government determined the Uygurs were not "enemy combatants" and decided they should be released.

US President Barack Obama has been eager to resettle the Chinese Muslims since vowing to shut the notorious jail by January 2010. The facility was dogged by reports of torture during the Bush administration.

But many Americans oppose housing released Guantanamo prisoners in the US over security concerns.

Germany and several other European countries last month rejected a request from the US to house some former inmates.

However,Palau President Johnson Toribiong agreed on Wednesday, AP reported, quoting him as saying it is a "humanitarian gesture".

Chinese observers say the 17 Uygurs are "hot potatoes" for countries that may fear terrorist attacks or damage to relations with China.

Pang Zhongying, an international relations expert at Renmin University of China, said special ties between Palau and the US may explain Palau's cooperation.

Palau, a former US trust territory in the Pacific, retained close links with the US after independence in 1994 and relies heavily on the US for aid and defense. The US is finalizing a $200 million support package for Palau, according to AFP.

Palau does not have diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Pang said differences between the US and China on the detainees had been "an obstacle" in bilateral relations.

(China Daily June 12, 2009)