BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A mechanism monitoring relations among ethnic groups in China will be built to deal with emergencies resulting from ethnic issues, according to a plan made public Thursday.

    The monitoring mechanism aims to "clamp down on ethnic separatism so as to safeguard ethnic unity, social stability and national security," according to the country's ethnic minorities affairs 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), which was approved by the State Council, or the cabinet, earlier this year, and was made public at Thursday's regular news conference.

    A sound social environment should be built to ensure the harmonious development of all ethnic groups, Dainzhub Ongboin, vice director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, told the news briefing, adding the Plan represents a major step in the central government's efforts to develop the country's ethnic minorities.

    The Chinese government attaches great importance to the crackdown on the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, especially in the western region of the country.

    Police in China's far west Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region crushed a terrorist training camp in January, in which 18 terrorists were killed and 17 others captured.

    The training camp was run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group that the United Nations in 2002 labeled a terrorist organization. Leading terrorists in the camp were trained by Taliban and Al-Qaeda representatives and later stole into Xinjiang.