Previous CRRF exercises featured the “Batken-3” scenario to fight IMU terrorists. According to the current exercises’ scheme, the troops are trained to fight Al Qaeda warriors and other terrorist organizations allegedly active in the Ferghana Valley to create a Caliphate. The main task of “Rubezh-2004” was to disband international terrorists by means of air attacks. This was the first time when the CRRF completed the whole spectrum of exercises, from threat recognition to its full annihilation.

Military equipment for the exercises included weaponry for ground and air targets. The Russian military base at Kant supplied SU-25 and Mig-29 front-line bombers, Mi-8 MTV, Mi-24 and “Chernaya Akula” (Black Shark) – Mi 50 helicopters. Russia sent elite Special Forces from Privolzhsko-Ural’skii military district. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan sent one additional battalion each and Tajikistan sent two. The Kyrgyz side provided logistical support, besides necessary accommodation facilities such as shelter tents and dining rooms. The camping areas included ambulance and medical equipment, satellite television and internet access.

“’Rubezh-2004’ will outdo the recently held joint military exercises by the SCO in China” in scope and professionalism, Colonel Japarov from Kyrgyzstan stated. The Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev, Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov and General Secretary Nikolai Borduzha observed “Rubezh-2004”. For the first time, accredited military observers from SCO and the Chinese Ministry of Defense attended the CRRF exercises. Armenia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan sent observers as well.

Uzbekistan is not a member of the CSTO, however bilateral military relations between the Uzbek and Russian governments noticeably improved in the last several months. Earlier in July, Uzbek President Karimov visited Yalta, Ukraine, to meet with President Putin. The presidents signed a bilateral agreement on military technological cooperation to strengthen the Uzbek army and enhance coordination of customs regimes. The Uzbek mass media only marginally mentioned the “Rubezh-2004” exercises. Local newspapers were preoccupied with the suicide bombings in Tashkent on July 30 and a trial of fifteen suspects in terrorist blasts earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Elisabeth Jones said during her visit to Bishkek that the American military presence in Central Asia is temporary and depends on developments in Afghanistan. On July 28, Tajikistan received military equipment from the U.S. amounting to US$1,7million. The equipment is aimed at helping national armed forces expand their capacity, the Tajik new agency Asia-Plus reported.

Since the last armed conflict in Batken in 2000, there were little signs of a significant non-state armed mobilization such as that of the IMU. The regional insurgency seems to have changed from mass attacks and conflicts at national borders to individual violent outbreaks such as suicide bombers, as in Uzbekistan. Observers believe that the IMU is no longer capable of instigating conflicts with Kyrgyz or Uzbek troops.

Cooperation between the CSTO’s member states has intensified, and the number of CRRF has increased since last year. Although the CSTO was previously widely criticized as an inefficient organization, there is a visible approval of its growing necessity among the local population in Kyrgyzstan, where the exercises could be seen by anyone who passed Balykchy town. Kyrgyz and Tajik mass media reported that the exercises demonstrated that the CSTO was not another paper agreement, but a viable regional institution, which will be crucial in providing security of national sovereignties and regional order against international terrorism in the future. “The exercises are needed for the army to transfer its experience and skills from year to year,” says Stal, a Kyrgyz soldier. For many Central Asian soldiers, this was a first chance to get acquainted with modern military weapons.