Thursday, April 12, 2012 -
China vowed on Wednesday to ratchet up security actions with the Central Asian republics and the Russian Federation.
State Councilor Meng Jianzhu made that pledge during talks with senior officials of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Russia in the Chinese capital Beijing.
The five are partner countries of the regional security body Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which also includes Central Asia’s Uzbekistan.
All six countries are attending the seventh session of the two-day SCO security council secretaries meeting which ends Thursday.
Meng said the group must urgently fight the frequently referenced “three evil forces” of separatism, extremism, and terrorism, which are threatening the security and stability of the member nations and region, the Xinhua reported.
The delegation heads agreed with Meng on the need to strengthen ties between their security agencies and law enforcement bodies and intensify efforts against drug trafficking and other cross-border organized crimes.
In a separate meeting, Uzbek and Chinese military officials pledged to bolster bilateral military ties.
Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Xu Caihou noted that military ties between the two countries were growing and expressed hope for exchanges between the two armies, Xinhua reported.