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China, on 27 August, welcomed the participation of military forces of India and Pakistan for the first time in a mega anti-terror drill of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and hoped that the two countries could enhance dialogue and cooperation both bilaterally and within multilateral mechanisms to maintain regional peace and stability.
The anti-terror exercise of the Beijing-based SCO being held at Chebarkul town in Chelyabinsk region in Russia from 22 to 29 August, aimed at expanding cooperation among the member countries to deal with the growing menace of terrorism and extremism.
The joint exercise titled Peaceful Mission 2018 being conducted by the Central Military Commission of Russia involve tactical level operations in an international counter insurgency or counter terrorism environment under the SCO Charter.
"These two countries are important ones in South Asia," she said, adding that stable relationship between the two countries is "significant to the peace and development of the region and the whole world."
At least 3,000 soldiers from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan are participating in the drill. The Indian contingent of 200 personnel is primarily composed of troops from infantry and affiliated arms and services along with the Indian Air Force.
Chinese military experts also welcomed the participation of India and Pakistan in the counter-terrorism drill.
The previous SCO counter-terrorism drills were mainly limited 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 state-run Global Times.
Sun Zhuangzhi, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said Peace Mission 2018 will also greatly improve military and political mutual trust among SCO countries, especially between India and Pakistan.
Li said future counter-terrorism drills among SCO countries have to come up with new drills on targeting terrorist groups in South Asia.
He suggested that the SCO further expand to include Afghanistan, which is currently an observer country, to strengthen counter-terrorism efforts in South Asia.
The SCO was established in Shanghai in 2001, with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as founding members. It expanded to include India and Pakistan in 2017.
(Published in an arrangement with PTI)
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