Pakistan, China to strengthen security ties

BEIJING: Pakistan and China will strengthen their cooperative partnership for maintaining regional security and stability, through the platform of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The two countries, along with other members States will make joint efforts to push forward security cooperation at the regional level. The SCO provides a big opportunity to participating countries to bring normalcy in their bilateral ties as well for addressing joint security's threats.

It will be first-time for Pakistan and India to attend the SCO Summit as full members. The summit is scheduled to take place next month. China as a leading figure of the organization, wishes that the peace and security should be the top priority for each country.

According to SCO Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as a comprehensive regional organization with extensive influence, the SCO has played an important role in preserving regional stability and prosperity and set an example for the new-type international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation.

The SCO is a new-type regional cooperation mechanism created after the Cold War. Its predecessor, the Shanghai Five, started with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan making arrangements for military mutual trust and mutual disarmament in the border area. From the very beginning, the Shanghai Five was committed to eliminating the security hazards left from the Cold War period, and creating the new security thinking characterized by "promoting security through cooperation and solving international disputes through dialogue". Later it expanded the cooperation to maintaining regional security and stability to great success.

Since it was established 17 years ago, the SCO has adhered to the principles of openness, transparency and not targeting any third party. It stresses partnership rather than alliance among the member states, doesn't seek to form military and political alliance, and firmly opposes the Cold War mindset and power politics. These emphases make it an important force for maintaining regional stability.

The SCO advocates the new security outlook of "commonness, comprehensiveness, cooperation and sustainability", and enriches the new model of international relations centered on "partnership rather than alliance" initiated by China and Russia.