Military ties among member states of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) are not designed to target any country, said a senior Foreign Ministry official yesterday.

At a press conference ahead of Thursday's SCO summit in Shanghai, at which defence and military co-operation is expected to be one of the major subjects, Li Hui, assistant minister of foreign affairs, said defence co-operation was aimed at safeguarding regional stability, not intimidating other nations.

Chairmen of the Parliaments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's Kremlin. Russia and China moved to fortify their growing security cooperation in Central Asia but reassured the United States that their new-found unity of purpose in the region was not designed to subvert US interests there.[AFP]

Li, in charge of Euro-Asian affairs, said holding regular anti-terrorism exercises was part of the security and defence co-operation within the SCO.

The organization, founded in 2001, has agreed to hold joint anti-terrorism exercises next year in the Volga-Ural military district of Russia.

The drills will be the first to involve all six SCO member countries China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

"Such co-operation is strictly in line with the SCO's nature as a non-aligned organization which neither promotes confrontation nor targets any third country or organization," said Li.

"Any further military co-operation among SCO member states is only meant to safeguard security, stability and peace in the region."

Li said staging regular joint military exercises grew from the common aspiration of SCO members to fight the three evil forces of terrorism, secessionism and extremism, as well as maintaining regional security.

"Only through strengthening military co-operation and supporting each other can SCO members jointly deal with the emerging threats and challenges posed by terrorism," added Li.

Although most foreign journalists' questions focused on the Iranian nuclear programme, the senior official declined to specify whether such a sensitive issue will be on the agenda at the SCO summit.

As Iran along with Mongolia, India and Pakistan is an observer of the SCO, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend and is expected to deliver a speech.

"Heads of state from all the SCO members and observers will exchange views about extensive issues and their own interests at the summit," Li told reporters.

"But I cannot predict exactly what issues will be covered."

The assistant minister did however go on to stress that the speech to be made by President Ahmadinejad at the SCO summit meeting "will represent only the stance of Iran."

Ahmadinejad's participation at the summit comes as Iran is considering an international plan to deal with a standoff over its nuclear programme.

The plan has been drawn up by Britain, France and Germany, and approved by the United States, China and Russia.

If Iran rejects the plan, which includes both incentives and penalties, the Western powers threaten to push for UN-backed sanctions.

Li also said SCO member states will strengthen co-operation with Afghanistan, whose President Hamid Karzai will attend the summit as guest, to fight drug-trafficking under the framework of SCO-Afghanistan liaison group.

"Afghanistan has become a major source of drugs," said Li.

He added that all the SCO member states are major victims of drug crime, which not only threatens regional peace and stability but also generates cash for terrorist and extremist groups.

"The SCO is willing to actively join international efforts to build an anti-drug belt around Afghanistan," he said.

(China Daily 06/13/2006 page1)