Disarmament helps improve border security
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-30 00:47

Joint disarmament efforts made by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have improved security along China's 7,000-kilometre-long border with the other four countries, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official said on Friday.

The disarmament has also bolstered the relationship of the five nations and the development of regional co-operation, said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui.

Envoys from China, Russia, Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- the five members of a joint supervision group on disarmament -- convened a meeting from October 19 to 29 to commemorate the group's fifth anniversary.

The group, established in 1999, is obligated to supervise and implement an agreement on the reduction of military forces, and an agreement on strengthening mutual trust in the military, signed by the five nations in 1996 and 1997.

The five nations, also members of Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO), hold two sessions each year to draw up mutual inspection plans and to supervise the implementation of the two agreements. The SCO is an intergovernmental organization founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, to strengthen mutual trust and good-neighbourliness and friendship among member states.

On Thursday, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo met delegates from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan in Beijing to discuss military trust and the reduction of military forces in border areas, praising their work as "yielding fruitful results."

"The relationship between China and the other four countries has reached an unprecedented high level," Li Hui said. "The SCO is also entering a new period."

"To carry out the two agreements will help create favorable conditions for the advancement of relations and regional co-operation," Li said.

Li said that the joint supervision group would keep working hard to ensure smooth implementation of the agreements, and make new contributions to the lasting peace and stability in border areas, and to the friendship between China and the other four countries generation after generation.

Close

Today's Top News     Top China News
China's rate hike contributes to oil price slump         Bad news dogs Bush as election draws near         Traffic law shores up road safety         China takes firm stance on arable land         Beijing Olympic venues on schedule, IOC told         More job vacancies reported in third quarter	China raises pension for enterprise retirees       Traffic law shores up road safety       More job vacancies reported in third quarter       Government to upgrade farmer's skills       Fatal plague in Qinghai brought under control       Nation vows to punish snakeheads