Defense ministers from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) signed a joint communiqué on military cooperation during their Tuesday session in Moscow.
In their communiqué, the ministers from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan pledged constructive cooperation and comprehensive coordination in safeguarding stability and security, as well as in defense issues.
The ministers agreed to maintain the regular meeting mechanism among SCO defense ministers and representatives of the general staff.
Long-term effective mechanism and working structures were necessary for fulfilling the common tasks in regional cooperation in security and defense, they stressed.
The ministers decided to establish a senior defense official commission composed of those in charge of international military cooperation or those authorized by the defense ministers of each member to make concrete proposals.
The ministers said fruitful military cooperation among SCO countries, conducted within the framework of 1996 Shanghai accord and 1997 Moscow accord, is a model for new type military cooperation that keeps abreast with the times.
Such cooperation benefited not only the long-term steady growth of friendly cooperation among its members but also the maintenance of peace and stability in the region and the world at large, the ministers noted.
They said the organization should further consolidate this cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefits so as to cope with all kinds of challenges and threats and to guarantee substantial cooperation among their armed forces.
The ministers said the latest situation in Afghanistan required bilateral and multilateral cooperation in maintaining regional security and stability as well as in fighting against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
They condemned all types of terrorism as crimes, and decided to create a joint expert group, which would be responsible for consultations on joint anti-terrorism exercises.
The ministers also voiced support for the proposal to create a non-nuclear zone in the Central Asia region.
The SCO was formed in 1996 in Shanghai, China, to encourage regional cooperation and coordinate the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian arrived here Monday for the SCO session. He is expected to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Ivanov, on Thursday.
(People's Daily May 16, 2002)
