RUSSIA: The anti-terror drills of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Russia have come into the limelight as, for the first time, the militaries of arch-rivals – Pakistan and India – are participating together in an anti-terror drill.
The SCO Peace Mission Exercise is conducted biennially for the SCO member states, and it is the first time for Pakistan and India to participate in the drill together since becoming SCO full members in June 2017.
About 3,000 soldiers from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan are partaking in the drill, as media reports said.
The joint exercise is being conducted by the Central Military Commission of Russia from August 22 to August 29 at Chebarkul, Russia. The drills are a part of SCO’s initiative to foster cooperation between member countries in dealing with growing threats of terrorism and extremism.
According to the Chinese media, before the inclusion of Pakistan and India as full members, the previous SCO counter-terrorism drills were mainly restricted to the Central Asian nations. “But due to the entry of India and Pakistan, the SCO’s counter-terrorism mission has expanded to South Asia,” Li Wei, a counter-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, told.
Sun Zhuangzhi, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said Peace Mission 2018, said, “It’s a rare opportunity for Pakistan and India, which have long been involved in military conflict, to enhance military exchanges and trust. This could improve regional stability,” Sun said.
The SCO was established in Shanghai in 2001, with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as founding members.
