India, Pak army to take part in SCO wargames
The Indian and Pakistani militaries will participate for the first time in a joint military exercise in Russia along with six other countries, including China, in August, an exercise that could ease tension between the two hostile neighbours and mark a new high for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), said Chinese experts.
The drill will likely include a rare meeting between the Indian and Pakistani chiefs of general staff. Titled ‘Peace Mission 2018’, the joint counterterrorism command post exercise – among the SCO members – will take place at the Chebarkulsky training ground in the Ural mountains.
“It is planned that chiefs of general staffs of the SCO states will hold meetings within the drills,” Russia’s ministry of defence announced last week.
Military representatives from SCO countries had met in Russia to discuss the “concept of the exercise, the plan of practical actions as well as the strength and forces and means (to be) involved,” the ministry had said.
The drill will follow the 18th SCO Summit, scheduled for June 9 and 10 in the coast city of Qingdao, and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will be a first for India and Pakistan to take part in a joint military exercise since the Independence,
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although the militaries have worked side-by-side in UN peacekeeping missions.
The multilateral exercise will be an opportunity for India and Pakistan militaries to ease tension, Chinese experts told state media here.
Li Li, a leading expert on South Asia at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said many exchange mechanisms between Pakistan and India have been halted due to constant border tensions.
“It is very rare for the Indian and Pakistani militaries to interact with each other,” she said. “The SCO is a great platform for member nations to build mutual trust, improve their ability to tackle terrorist threats and maintain regional peace and security.
“India and Pakistan have had many conflicts, but the SCO exercise can facilitate positive interactions between the two militaries and help ease tensions between the two countries.”
Li Xing, a professor of international relations at Beijing Normal University, said.
India and Pakistan joining the exercise represents a new height in security cooperation through the SCO, Li added. The last exercise of the SCO was held in Kyrgyzstan in September 2016.
The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its members last year.