A senior Chinese military official said on Tuesday that the upcoming joint military drill on combating terrorism, separatism and extremism will improve the security cooperation between members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The drill, which is believed to a test of SCO members' capability of conducting strategic consultations, battle planning, transportation and deployment of troops, "demonstrates the determination of SCO members in tackling new challenges and threats in the region," said an official with the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense.
"It is a clear manifestation of high-level mutual trust and understanding among SCO members and showcases a new level of cooperation among the member countries in defense and security," he said.
The exercise, dubbed "Peace Mission 2007", will be carried out in Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountains region and in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from Aug. 8 to 17.
All six SCO members -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- will take part.
The official said a joint command center will be set up for the drill with commanders from the armed forces of the six countries.
"Commanders of the six countries will cooperate closely to map out action plans and jointly command the troops," said the official, who declined to be named.
On the technical level, the official said unified frequencies will be set to assist communication and common signals will be formulated for coordinated actions.
A total of 1,600 soldiers from China's army and air force -- including airborne and logistic units -- will take part in the drill, according to the ministry. But it is not known how many soldiers from the other five countries will join the drill.
The SCO members held an anti-terror joint military drill in 2003. In 2005, China and Russia conducted a joint military exercise, code-named " Peace Mission 2005".
Source: Xinhua
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