MOSCOW, July 3 (RIA Novosti) - Some 6,500 troops will take part in large-scale
counterterrorism exercises August 9-17 conducted by a regional security and
economic group dominated by Russia and China, Russia's deputy Ground Forces
commander said Tuesday.
The Peace Mission 2007 exercise, held by members of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) in the Volga-Urals military district, will involve 500 combat
vehicles from Russia and China, about 2,000 Russian and 1,600 Chinese
personnel, two paratrooper companies (around 100 men each) from Tajikistan and
Kazakhstan, and a platoon from Kyrgyzstan.
"The exercise will involve practically all SCO members for the first time in its
history," Colonel-General Vladimir Moltenskoi said, adding that Uzbekistan
would be represented by a group of staff officers.
Established in 2001 as a non-military alliance, the SCO initially set dealing
with Islamic extremism and other security threats in Central Asia as its goal,
but has since expanded its scope to include cooperation in disaster relief and
trade.
The SCO never held a full-scale military exercise involving all its member
states, but Russia and China have already held several military joint exercises
within the framework of the organization, including the Peace Mission 2005
exercise.
During the August exercise, Russia and China will deploy 36 and 46 aircraft,
respectively. Both countries will contribute six Il-76 military transports each
to perform simulated airborne assaults, Moltenskoi said.
Participating units will start arriving in Russia July 27, the official said.
The group, which comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan, is largely viewed as a counter to NATO in the region. The
organization also lists Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia as observers.
However, the Russian general said the upcoming exercises were not aimed at third
countries and were mainly intended to practice troops interoperability in
counterterrorism operations.
Russia's Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov said in May that the
organization, which is often referred to as the Shanghai-Six, focused on
fighting drug and arms trafficking, terrorism and separatism, and was never
intended to become a military bloc.
"The issue of transforming the organization into a military alliance has not
been brought up," he said.
