DUSHANBE, April 22, 2015, Asia-Plus – The special force platoon and the rapid reaction unit of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan are participating in a five-day joint military exercise for special force units of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that kicked off in the Chuo region of Kyrgyzstan on April 21.
Faridoun Mahmadaliyev, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan, says purpose of the exercise is to rehearse coordination and interaction in anti-terror missions in mountain areas. The active phase of the exercise will be conducted on April 24.
Over the past few years, SCO’s activities have expanded to include increased military cooperation. There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. The Organization’s largest-ever military exercise was conducted in China in August last year. The exercise that involved 7,000 troops from five SCO member nations was reportedly unprecedented, both in terms of scale and in terms of the weaponry being used.
Founded by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on June 15, 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.
The Organization currently has six full members — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, Iran, Pakistan and India are four observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Belarus, Sri Lanka and Turkey.
