DUSAHNBE, August 24, Asia-Plus — On August 20, sub-units of four member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan – arrived in Kazakhstan to take part in joint military exercises, dubbed “Rubezh-2006” (Boundary-2006), which was launched in Kazakhstan today.
According to information from the Tajik Ministry of Defense (MoD), the war game involving ground, sea and air units is being conducted at the Caspian Sea coast, some 30 kilometers northeast of the port Aktau. The exercise will last August 29.
Tajikistan is represented in this war game by one operational group and platoon being a part of the CSTO rapid deployment forces.
About 2,500 servicemen from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan are participating in this war game. Kazakhstan’s Defense Minister Moukhtar Altynbayev is in overall command of this counterterrorism exercise.
Uzbek servicemen are attending the military exercises in Kazakhstan as observers.
The MoD source says the joint exercise in Kazakhstan is being conducted in three phases: the first and the second phases will include command-staff drills and the third phase will include joint tactical exercises. Besides, 2,500 servicemen, the war game in Kazakhstan also will involve 60 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 50 canons and mortars, and 35 aircraft of Russian and Kazakh Air Forces, according to the source.
The CSTO has previously held Rubezh anti-terrorist exercises in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization was founded on October 7, 2002 by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan to ensure peace, preserve the territorial integrity of member countries, coordinate activities in the fight against international terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized international crime, and provide immediate military assistance to a CSTO member in the event of a military threat.
