The Tajik and Chinese militaries launched joint exercises in Kulyab on Friday to improve coordination in countering possible terrorist attacks.

 

More than 300 Tajik troops from the artillery, infantry and airborne divisions, as well as a reinforced company of more than 150 Chinese troops, practiced a coordinated response to possible terrorist attacks during the drills code-named "Coordination 2006."

 

The mountain warfare exercises were held under a memorandum signed by the Tajik and Chinese defense ministers in Beijing in April, to enhance the two sides' mutual trust and cooperative ties as well as to maintain regional security and stability.

 

Before inaugurating the exercises, Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairullaev met with Xu Qiliang, deputy chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China.

 

They agreed to further boost their cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), to enhance the two militaries' ability to fight the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

 

The SCO, established in 1996, groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006)