"Eurasia-Counter-Terrorism-2026" joint anti-terrorism exercise held

China News Service, Beijing, October 10 (Reporter Guo Chaokai) The reporter learned from the Ministry of Public Security of China on the 10th that a joint anti-terrorism exercise codenamed "Eurasia-Anti-Terrorism-2026" by the competent authorities of the SCO member states was held in Minsk, Belarus, from October 4th to 8th.

This exercise was hosted by Belarus for the first time after joining the SCO. China’s Ministry of Public Security and other competent authorities of SCO member states sent anti-terrorism law enforcement forces to participate.

The exercise is closely integrated with changes in the current international and regional security situation and aims to detect and eliminate threats from international terrorist organizations within the territory of SCO member states, improve the practical skills of member states' competent authorities in dealing with terrorist threats, enhance the effectiveness of all parties involved in anti-terrorism operations, accumulate experience for international law enforcement and security cooperation, demonstrate firm determination to cooperate in combating the "three evil forces", and enhance joint anti-terrorism capabilities.

Participants from the competent authorities of the SCO member states and the executive committees of regional anti-terrorist agencies form a joint headquarters responsible for the organization and implementation of the exercise. The exercise was implemented in two phases.

The first stage is for the competent authorities of each member state to carry out counter-terrorism intelligence exchanges and operational processing in accordance with the goals set by the exercise, under the coordination of the Executive Committee of the Regional Counter-Terrorism Agency. The second stage is based on the relevant procedural agreements for organizing and holding joint anti-terrorism operations and exercises within the territory of member states. The competent authorities of Belarus invite the competent authorities of member states to participate in the actual police drills. The focus is on clearing terrorists in crowded places, rescuing hostages, curbing drone terrorist attacks, searching for explosives, and combating illegal armed groups in the wild and residential areas.

The Chinese participating forces carried out explosive search and explosive disposal subjects during the exercise, smoothly organized all operational links including containment and control, reconnaissance and confirmation, on-site disposal, inspection and recovery, accurately eliminated the threat of explosive attacks, and completed the scheduled tasks. This demonstrated a high level of the technical and tactical level and comprehensive handling capabilities of the Chinese public security anti-terrorism law enforcement forces. The Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, the competent authorities of each member state, and relevant international organizations sent personnel to observe the exercise.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Over the past 25 years, under the guidance of the "Shanghai Spirit", China and its member states have continuously strengthened law enforcement and security cooperation, formulated comprehensive international cooperation legal documents, established a series of pragmatic cooperation mechanisms, and through regular joint anti-terrorism exercises and other cooperation measures, have improved their operational capabilities to combat the "three evil forces", jointly responded to security threats and challenges, and maintained regional security. (over)