SCO antiterrorist exercise to be held in China in 2011

TASHKENT, March 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Countries of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) will hold a joint exercise of competent
bodies "Tien Shan-2-2011" on the territory of China in May this year.
Issues of its holding are discussed at the 18th meeting of the SCO Council
of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), in which representatives
of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan take
part.
The exercise is planned to be held on the territory of China on May 6
with the aim of raising combat readiness of antiterrorist units and
strengthening operational interaction between competent bodies of the SCO
member-countries.
The first exercise under the title "Tien Shan" was held in the Almaty
region of Kazakhstan and in the city of Yingying of the Xinjang-Uygur
Autonomous Region of China in August 2006.
The holding of the exercise is just one of the issues of Friday's RATS
meeting dedicated to issues of combating terrorism, separatism and
extremism.
Opening the meeting, Chinese Deputy Minister of Public Security Meng
Hongwei sharply condemned on behalf of the Chinese side the latest act of
terrorism in the Moscow airport Domodedovo on January 24, 2011, as well as
other terrorist, separatist and extremist manifestations on the territory
of the SCO member-countries of late. The meeting is held under his
chairmanship. "I can assure that SCO committees and departments will, as
before, strengthen practical cooperation and most strictly fight with all
manifestations of these three evils," Meng Hongwei said.
The meeting participants heard a report of director of the SCO RATS
Executive Committee Dzhenisbek Dzhumanbekov on the pace of implementation
of the Programme of cooperation of the SCO member-countries in the fight
with terrorism, separatism and extremism for 2010-2012, as well as
decisions of the CSO RATS Council.
Besides, the meeting participants will consider issues of joint
measures of the SCO member-countries to ensure security of a meeting of
the Council of SCO heads of state due to be held in Astana (Kazakhstan) on
June 15 and the holding of the 26th Summer Universiad in the city of
Shenzhen and the first fair "China-Eurasia" in Urumchi (China). All the
events will be held this year.
The meeting participants will discuss issues of cooperation of the
RATS with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council and
the CSTO Secretariat.