Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will establish political and military mechanisms to co-ordinate their defence and security policies under a pact signed last week, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The three Sunni allies of the US signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement<\/a> on August 7 to deepen military and defence industry co-operation. They \u200csaid the accord stipulates that an armed attack against any member \u200bwould be regarded as an attack on all, similar to Nato’s Article 5 collective defence clause.<\/p>\n At a weekly briefing in Ankara<\/a>, the Defence Ministry said the mechanisms will bring together the countries\u2019 defence and foreign ministers and military chiefs, with co-ordination taking place at the highest level. The pact also envisages gradually expanding joint military exercises, beginning with command-post and field drills and later involving land, sea, air, air defence and unmanned systems.<\/p>\n It said the agreement aims to strengthen the three countries\u2019 ability to respond jointly to potential crises and develop their operational capabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe aim is \u200bto provide not only product and system supply, but also \u200bjoint development \u200cand production, technology co-operation, and sustainable maintenance and logistics support,\u201d the ministry said. Unmanned and autonomous systems, electronic warfare and AI capabilities would \u2060be prioritised, it added.<\/p>\n The Makkah agreement is \u201cdefensive in nature and does not designate any country as a common enemy or adversary\u201d, the ministry said. It added the pact \u201cis not considered an alternative or rival to Nato\u201d but would complement the international security architecture by contributing to regional security and stability.<\/p>\n Turkey has Nato<\/a>‘s second-largest army. It had previously said the pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia<\/a> was open to expansion \u2013 with Egypt a potential candidate to join.<\/p>\n The agreement was signed as the Middle East remains embroiled in the Iran war<\/a>. The conflict has brought Iranian missile attacks on Gulf states, adding to security concerns among regional powers.<\/p>\n