NEW DELHI: Terming bio-terrorism a “contagious plague” and “the real threat” in today’s time, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called upon the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries to devise ways to effectively deal with the challenges posed to the soldiers in the battlefield.
Inaugurating the first Military Medicine Conference for the SCO in New Delhi, Singh said, “Bio-terrorism is the real threat… the armed forces and their medical services will have to be at the forefront to tackle the menace.”He asked the AFMS to have a clear, effective and rehearsed protocol with respect to casualty management strategies. “The protocols and strategies need to be devised taking into account not just the peculiarities of the operating environment and the nature of operations, but also competence and capabilities of AFMS,” he said.
A total of 40 Indian 27 international delegates from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tazikistan, Sri-Lanka and Nepal are attending the two-day conference. Pakistan was also invited, but its delegates did not turn up.
But, the Pakistan Army is participating in the multilateral exercise TSENTR 2019 with Indian Army being held in Russia. It also participated recently with India in the SCO military exercise.
Singh termed SCO as “alliance of the East” due to its growing centrality in Asia-Pacific and described it as ‘primary security pillar’ in the region.