SCO Special Services to Increase Oil, Gas Pipeline Safety

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries will enhance security measures at cross-border oil and gas pipelines, the SCO Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure (RCTS) press service said Friday.

TASHKENT (Uzbekistan) Sputnik – The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) security services will boost security at cross-border oil and gas pipelines, the SCO Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure (RCTS) press service said Friday.

"The competent authorities of SCO member states have stepped up the development of joint measures to ensure the safety of cross-border oil and gas pipelines," RCTS told RIA Novosti.

It cited intelligence confirming terrorist organizations’ interest toward the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India gas pipeline, whose construction began in mid-December.

RCTS added that its experts met the Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) Anti-Terrorist Center in Moscow earlier in February to discuss counterterrorism efforts at member states’ infrastructure facilities.

"The sides discussed issues of cooperation between relevant agencies at critically dangerous facilities, crowded sites, the use of special tools to prevent and suppress acts of terrorism and extremism in present conditions, as well as their legal regulation," RCTS said.

The SCO is a political, economic and military alliance that includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, where RCTS is headquartered.