It's known to all that the cooperation in the defense and security sectors forms the cornerstone for the cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and also provides the orientation of cooperation topping the agenda of SCO development. Ever since the SCO came into being, intensified exchanges and cooperation within the framework of the SCO have been constantly witnessed among the defense departments of its member states, which are highlighted by three defense minister conferences of the SCO held in Shanghai, Moscow and Beijing in 2001, 2002 and 2006 respectively. In addition, China and Kyrgyzstan staged successfully their first bilateral joint counter-terrorism exercise within the framework of the SCO at the border area in October 2002, which was followed by the first multilateral joint counter-terrorism exercise involving China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan inside China and Kazakhstan in August 2003, the first China-Russia joint military exercise in the Far East region of Russia and in Qingdao area of China in August 2005, and the first bilateral joint anti-terrorism exercise held by China and Tajikistan within the territory of Tajikistan in September 2006. On top of that, the 1^st symposium on defense and security and the 1^st forum on defense and security of the SCO were held in Beijing in July 2004 and Nov. 2005 respectively. These exchanges and cooperation have harvested a series of remarkable achievements. Upon the unanimous endorsement of the member states of the SCO, a regional counter-terrorism center has been established and the legal documents underpinning the cracking down on terrorism and transnational crimes have been formulated and improved.

　　The intimate cooperation between the member states of the SCO in defense and security sectors attributes to the "Shanghai Spirit" which embodies mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversified civilization and a desire for common development---a spirit initiated and unswervingly promoted by the SCO. The reason why the SCO---a budding regional international organization of only five years old, is able to stand up to the test of the constant flux of international situation and win the recognition and praise of the international community rests with the fact that its member states have established a new security concept, a fresh mode of state-to-state relations and a novel pattern of regional cooperation based on the "Shanghai Spirit". The so-called "new security concept" stands for mutual trust and security for all, while the "fresh mode of state-to-state relations" refers to partnership but no alignment, openness and transparency, and not against any other countries and regional organizations, and the "novel pattern of regional cooperation" spells for equal partnership, unanimity through consultation, joint initiative, security first, mutual benefit and coordination. The practice of the past five years has vindicated that the "Shanghai Spirit" has demonstrated increasingly exuberant vitality, has steered the cooperation among the SCO member states in defense and security sectors progressing in a deep-going way from the traditional security field to the non-traditional security field and from single cooperation field to comprehensive cooperation field, and has turned the SCO into a powerful support to the regional security and stability.

　　Thanks to the efforts made by the summits of the heads of the SCO member states and the meetings of the leaders of defense departments of the member states in the past five years, member states of the SCO have reached consensus on the principle stand of laying down the measures and establishing the mechanism for coping with matters that threaten regional peace, stability and security, and have confirmed the general direction of stepping up cooperation in the defense and security sectors. The 6th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of SCO Member States held in last June signed 10 documents, of which four are related to cooperation in the defense and security sectors. These documents have prescribed the outline and procedures for the member states to ensure international information security, clamp down on the "three forces" (terrorism, secessionism and extremism) and carry out joint counter-terrorism operations.

　　Presently, fighting against the threats of terrorism, secessionism and extremism as well as illegal drug trafficking remain the priority of the SCO. It can be anticipated that if only all the member states observe the "Shanghai Spirit" and deepen pragmatic cooperation, they will certainly be able to do a good job in putting the mechanism in place, to perform actual deeds, and to achieve actual effects and benefits in all fields including defense and security, so as to provide a brighter future for the peoples of this region.

　　By Zhang Shun

　　(Nov 20, PLA Daily)