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Military drill aims to deepen mutual trust
By Sun Shangwu (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-03 05:43
Defence ministers of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO), which comprises Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as China and Russia, have been invited to observe.
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| President Hu Jintao, left, guides Russian President Vladimir Putin during a welcome ceremony in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in this Oct. 14, 2004 file photo where Putin arrived for a three-day visit to mark 55 years of diplomatic relations and boost economic ties. [AP] |
The list of guests also includes representatives from India, Iran and Pakistan, the SCO observer countries. The joint rehearsal is conducted in line with "the guideline of Charter of the United Nations" and complies with international law as well as the principle of respecting other countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity, the ministry's statement said.
"The military manoeuvre neither targets any third party, nor concerns the interests of any third country." The major purpose of the exercise is to deepen mutual trust between China and Russia, increase their friendship, and strengthen the co-operation and co-ordination of the two armies in the defence and security sectors, the statement noted.
The drill is also meant to fight international terrorism, extremism and separatism, and strengthen the countries' ability to cope with new challenges and new threats.
Xinhua quoted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, who inspecteded Vladivostok recently, as saying on Sunday that no other country has any reason to worry about this joint military exercise.
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