Tajikistan has seen Chinese servicemen off with flowers and presents.
The first joint anti-terror drill for Tajik and Chinese servicemen was completed in Ishkashim district of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) Monday morning, according to Faridoun Mahmadalizoda, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan.
The exercise, involving at least 10,000 troops, including a mobile company of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), as well as military vehicles and helicopters, was conducted near the border with Afghanistan as part of China’s drive to boost security in the region.
Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo today morning handed over presents to the most distinguished Tajik and Chinese servicemen.
“The exercise has shown that servicemen of the two countries are ready to provide support to each other in the fight against international terrorism in case of necessity,” Tajik minister noted.
Tajik authorities said last month that China would be building infrastructure to increase security on the 1,300-kilometer border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Recall that Tajikistan together with Afghanistan and Pakistan joined China in a military alliance aimed at countering Islamist militancy.
According to some sources, military leaders from the four countries gathered on August 4 this year in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang to announce the alliance, the Pakistani Army said.
Known as the Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism, the alliance is reportedly meant to bring together member states in areas of counterterrorism and intelligence, the army said.
