Armed Forces of Xinjiang (21st Century Crisis)

The Armed Forces of Xinjiang (Uyghur: Qоралли́ Кüчлер Схинянг, Russian: Вооруженные силы Синьцзяна, Chinese: 新疆武装力量) is the armed wing of the East Turkestani government. It is currently divided into the Land Army and the Air Force.

The armed forces were formed from the remnants of the Soviet Red Army in the Uyghur SSR. The weaponry of the armed forces of Xinjiang is rather outdated, and from the Cold War. In 2011, the East Turkestani government recieved its first shipments of new AKM rifles and artillery pieces from the Soviet Union. Military spending in Xinjiang is estimated to be at approximately $7.3 billion USD.

In 2014, with the election of Shohrat Zakir, the East Turkestani government started to make serious efforts to improve Xinjiang's military forces, increasing the country's military spending to $4.5 billion USD. The government purchased an unreported amount of T-72 tanks from the Soviet Union, and well as 5,500 new AKM rifles.

In addition, the Zakir Administration saw the country's first use of nuclear material for testing. This had alerted both Soviet and Chinese military and defence authorities. Zakir had warned global leaders, "This is our country, and we, have the right to possess nuclear weapons".

East Turkestani military intelligence spotted both Soviet and Chinese forces amassing near Xinjiang's border regions, however, the leaders of the Xinjiang military recieved assurances from Soviet and Chinese military leaders that their forces were amassing for defensive efforts.

Zakir publicly announced, "To the Soviets and the Chinese, we see you. We know you're there. Send all the forces you'd like, nobody's gonna invade any of you."