A press conference is held after the 42nd regular meeting of the Council of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) hosted by China in Beijing on Friday. Photo: Liu Caiyu/GT

The anti-terror body under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday outlined practical cooperation for the next steps in fighting the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism in Beijing. 
The result was part of the 42nd regular meeting of the Council of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) hosted by China and held in Beijing on Friday. 

In addition, the meeting also conducted research on the implementation of the relevant resolutions from the SCO Astana Summit regarding the improvement of mechanisms to address security threats and challenges. 

It approved the annual work plan of the RATS Executive Committee and related special cooperation plans, the Global Times learnt from China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS). 

The outline of future cooperation within the anti-terror body of the SCO will enhance the member states' capabilities and interoperability in joint anti-terrorism operations, Cui Heng, a lecturer at the training base for the China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times.

Terrorist threats in recent years have seen a resurgence, with a concert hall terrorist attack in Moscow in March and terror attacks in Iran being two recent prominent events, Cui said. 

Terrorist activities often spill over to other countries and flow around the globe. As the SCO expands, enhanced capabilities in tackling more threats from terrorism are needed, the expert said. 

Representatives from the authorities of the SCO member states attended the meeting, along with the Director of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure Executive Committee, Ruslan Mirzaev. The SCO-RATS is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 

Cui told the Global Times that the meeting was held against the backdrop of the reform of the SCO-RATS, which has been a priority task since China took over the rotating presidency of the SCO. 

Representatives of SCO-RATS praised China's recent efforts in organizing a series of counter-terrorism activities during its chairmanship of the SCO, the Global Times learned. It helps consolidate the SCO's law enforcement and security cooperation mechanism, enhance the level of practical cooperation, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperative relationships, they said. 

The SCO member states recently conducted the Anti-terrorism Interaction-2024 joint exercise in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Photos released showed soldiers and police officers fully armed with assault rifles, pistols and riot shields launching an assault, some via armored and all-terrain vehicles and some via helicopter, with aerial drones and robot dogs also deployed in the exercise.

Cyber counter-terrorism training courses that were held in China have touched on sharing experiences in smart counter-terrorism, security maintenance in open crowded places and large-scale events, telecom network fraud, cross-border gambling, as well as cybersecurity, the Global Times learnt from sources.