Russia and China to hold joint military exercise

By Staff
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CHEBARKUL, Russia, Aug 17 (Reuters) Troops from Russia, China and Central Asian states will take part in a joint military exercise today designed to show off their alliance's increasing power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao will join Central Asian counterparts in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to watch the exercise in Russia's southern Ural region that will focus on counter-insurgency.

About 6,500 troops, mainly from Russia and China, will take part. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan are also SCO members.

Russia has fought two wars against Muslim separatists in its Chechnya region since 1994, China says it has been combating Muslim Uighur rebels in its most westerly province and Uzbekistan says it has had to combat Islamist militants.

The Russian commander in charge of the exercise, General Vladimir Moltenskoi, said yesterday it would help SCO member countries fight both international and ''internal terrorists''.

But the Uighur American Association, a Washington-based group that supports Muslim Uighurs in China, said: ''The scale of the exercises suggests that they are aimed at controlling local populations and not just combating terrorism.'' The SCO emerged a few years ago out of an original alliance set up after the former Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

It wants to deepen economic and military ties. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are rich in untapped energy resources while the strategic importance of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan increased with the 2001 US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan.

Russia and the United States have air bases in Kyrgyzstan.

Reuters SZ VP0610

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