BISHKEK (TCA) — The joint counter-terrorism exercises “Cooperation-2019,” held by the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (PAP) and the National Guard of Kyrgyzstan, concluded on August 13 in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
The drill is the latest product of the PAP and the National Guard of Kyrgyzstan to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and to deepen security cooperation.
It has effectively enhanced joint operational command and combat capabilities concerning counter-terrorism.
The joint drill was set against the background of confronting common terrorism threats, and was themed as fighting violent terrorist crimes.
About 150 officers and soldiers from China and Kyrgyzstan participated in the exercises.
In the meantime, Tajik and Chinese militaries are conducting counterterrorism exercises in Tajikistan’s mountainous Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.
Tajik Defense Ministry spokesman Orif Nozimzoda told RFE/RL on August 13 that the goal of the joint drill was to better counter possible threats posed by terrorist and extremist groups.
The exercises are to run until August 16 and involve about 1,200 troops from both sides, according to the news website of the Chinese military.
The Tajik Defense Ministry said the drills will be held in the districts of Khorugh, Ishkashim, and Shugnan, and will feature tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Military cooperation between China and Tajikistan has noticeably intensified over the past five years.
In October 2016, the two countries’ militaries held joint drills in Gorno-Badakhshan that involved nearly 10,000 troops, including 200 Chinese soldiers.
Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan borders China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
