Beijing has vigorously condemned the United States' recent transfer of suspected Uygur terrorists to Palau and called for their repatriation to China, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"We express strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the U.S. transferring the terrorist suspects to a third party in disregard of China's objection," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a November 3 statement.

The United States sent six Chinese Uygur terrorist suspects, formerly held at Guantanamo Bay, to the Pacific island nation of Palau, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Palau has no diplomatic relations with China.

"China's position on the Uygur terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo prison is consistent and unequivocal," Ma said. "They should be handed over to China and brought to justice."

These suspected terrorists are members of the terrorist group "East Turkistan Islamic Movement," which is on the sanction list of the UN Security Council, Ma noted.

China has lodged "solemn representations" with the U.S. side, urging it to abide by UN Security Council resolutions and its international antiterrorism obligations, stop transferring Uygur terrorist suspects to third countries and repatriate them to China as soon as possible, he said.

China likewise opposes any country accepting these suspects, he added. In 2006, the United States relocated five Uygur detainees to Albania and four others to the British overseas territory of Bermuda in June. The Uygurs, natives of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, were captured during the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.