Department of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association. He believes that the military exercises held within the framework of the SCO are fundamentally different from those conducted by NATO and the U.S.-Japan alliance. In SCO exercises, bilateral and multilateral alike, no countries or blocs are held as the imaginary enemy; instead, they focus on coping with non-conventional security threats to maintain peace and stability in the region, he said.

But Ouyang argues that the purpose of a military alliance is to address specific security threats through collaboration. The SCO is an organization aimed at promoting effective cooperation in politics, economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transportation, environmental protection and other fields in the spirit of establishing a new international economic and political order that is democratic, fair and equitable, he said.

On the security front, the SCO concentrates on combating the "three evil forces," curbing the illegal trafficking of weapons and drugs, illegal immigration and other crimes, while upholding the principles of nonalignment, not targeting anyone and openness, Ouyang added.

Wang Haiyun, a senior advisor at the China Center for SCO Studies and a former Chinese military attaché to Russia, echoed this view. He further pointed out that the SCO has been a strong advocate of the "new security concept" since its inception. According to this concept, countries should not resolve their disputes through confrontation but by peaceful means. A denial of the Cold War mentality, the concept stresses the pursuit of common security, he said.

The defense and security cooperation in the SCO is consistent with China's efforts to seek peaceful development and build a harmonious world, Wang added.

Wider participation

Peace Mission 2007 is the 18th joint military exercise the Chinese military has conducted with its foreign counterparts since 2002. In recent years, China has held joint military exercises not only with neighboring developing countries such as Pakistan, India and Thailand, but also with developed Western countries such as the United States, Britain and France.

The Chinese military has attached increasing importance to the practical aspect of the military exercises, Ouyang said. The military exercises helped strengthen cooperation between China and other countries in the field of security and foster mutual trust between their armed forces, he added. As the scope of the military exercises broadens, they are satisfying the security needs of China and other countries, he said.

Exercises in nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, security along sea routes, antiterror(2¥Œ), joint disaster relief and humanitarian aid, international infectious disease quarantine and the protection and evacuation of a country's citizens in hostile regions are particularly necessary, Ouyang said.

He noted that there is a tendency for participating countries to send various services of their armed forces to joint exercises. The bilateral and multilateral exercises China has taken part in mainly involved the navy, he said, adding that more than half of the previous 17 exercises were marine exercises. However, he predicted that future joint exercises would draw more active participation from other services.

Joint Military Exercises Within the Framework of the SCO Since 2002 October 2002: China and Kyrgyzstan launched a joint antiterror exercise along their border, the first bilateral joint military exercise within the framework of the SCO. August 2003: The armed forces of the SCO members held a joint antiterror exercise, the first multilateral antiterror military exercise within the framework of the SCO. August 2005: China and Russia conducted their first large-scale joint military exercise Peace Mission 2005. March 2006: SCO member states conducted the joint exercise East-Antiterror 2006 in Uzbekistan. August 2006: China and Kazakhstan launched the antiterror exercise Tianshan-1 2006 in the two countries, the first joint antiterror exercise the law enforcement and security agencies of two countries had conducted within the framework of the SCO. September 2006: China and Tajikistan conducted the antiterror military exercise Coordination 2006. Source: Xinhua News Agency