STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- China and Russia join Central Asia in new grouping By Jeremy Page SHANGHAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Leaders of China, Russia and four Central Asian states launched a new regional organisation on Friday to combat Islamic militancy and boost trade and investment among the resource-rich neighbours. Five years after its modest start as body to broker border disputes, the Shanghai Five -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- welcomed new member Uzbekistan and renamed itself the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Chinese President Jiang Zemin said the "six good neighbours" signed an agreement to fight ethnic and religious militancy while promoting trade and investment in an area whose vast oil reserves have revived international competition for influence. "The signing of the Shanghai Pact has laid the legal foundation for jointly cracking down on terrorism, separatism and extremism and reflects the firm determination of the six states on safeguarding regional security," Jiang said. "Our cooperation within this area will be further strengthened," he told a news conference. U.S. LOOMS IN BACKGROUND Security is of paramount importance at the meeting, which is seen as a test of China's ability to hold a large international event as it campaigns to host the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing. The Shanghai government shut down major roads, closed schools and encouraged businesses to take a day off on Friday to guarantee its guests a swift and safe passage. China's financial capital is due to host the annual summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in October, where new U.S. President George W. Bush is due to meet Jiang. An unspoken aim of the new body's two strongest members, China and Russia, is to stem growing U.S. influence in the region, where the Russian and British empires jostled for power in the "Great Game" of the 19th Century, analysts say. The United States is already the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan's oil and gas industries and has provided millions of dollars in military aid to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Jiang and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met in Shanghai on Thursday to kick off the summit just days before Putin is due to meet Bush in Slovenia. They stressed shared opposition to U.S. plans to build a national missile defence (NMD) system, one pillar of a new alliance based largely on fears of Islamic separatist unrest and opposition to U.S. dominance. CONCILIATORY NOTE But Jiang's meeting with Putin, the first of three planned for this year, also struck a conciliatory note on China-U.S. ties, roiled by the April spy plane showdown and human rights disputes. Jiang called for a "constructive" relationship with Washington, according to Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. The chief concern of most member states is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which has led armed incursions across the region over the last two years in an attempt to create an independent Islamic state. Underlining its determination to crack down on the group, Uzbekistan jailed 73 people last week for up to 18 years for aiding IMU gunmen who killed 20 Uzbek soldiers in a raid on the south of the country last year. China fears such unrest will fuel a separatist movement in its northwestern region of Xinjiang, where Muslim radicals from the Uighur ethnic minority have carried out bomb attacks and murdered government officials. 00:51 06-15-01 ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
