China hails Indo-Pak participation in SCO Peace Mission exercises

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

China has hailed the participation of Pakistan and India in the Peace Mission anti-terrorism exercises of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson declared on August 27 that their country welcomed the joint Indo-Pak participation in the SCO Peace Mission. 

The week-long exercises were held in Russia and for the first time two neighbouring countries under the banner of the SCO participated, spokesperson Hua Chunying remarked at a regular media briefing in Beijing. 

The Ministry of Defense officials of both the country said that they believe that the two sides can learn from each other, which is a unique opportunity to exchange experiences.

The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said that they welcomed the joint participation of India and Pakistan in the anti-terrorism exercise under the SCO framework.

“Pakistan and India are important countries in South Asia. The stability of bilateral relations is of great significance to the peace and development of the region and the world,” she said 

“We sincerely hope that the two countries will strengthen bilateral and dialogue and cooperation within multilateral mechanisms such as the SCO, improve bilateral relations, and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability,” she added.

The six-day SCO drills, which have brought the two countries together for the Exercise Peaceful Mission 2018, will continue till August 29 at Chebarkul town in Chelyabinsk Oblast in Russia. 

The exercise is aimed at enhancing cooperation between member states to deal with the growing threat of terrorism and extremism. 

Around 3,000 soldiers from Pakistan, India, China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are taking part in the exercise. 

The Pakistan contingent comprises 110 members, while the strength of the Chinese contingent is of 748 personnel. The 200-member strong Indian contingent has 167 Indian Army personnel including four women officers and 33 personnel from the Indian Air Force.