Shanghai Cooperation

The manner in which Pakistan and China have been using terrorism as an instrument of state policy definitely has the potential to affect cooperation on various multilateral platforms, more particularly in a forum like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This has been very aptly underlined by R. Ravindra, the charge d’affaires of India’s UN Mission, in his address at the UN to the Security Council meeting on Friday. Though the Indian diplomat took care not to mention the names of the two countries, it has become obvious that he, and for that matter, India, wants to draw the attention of the world community to the fact to the fact that there are two mischief-makers in the region, namely Pakistan and China. As has been pointed out, India has consistently advocated respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity for various trans-national connectivity and infrastructure projects. India also accords high priority to the consolidation of trust in the security domain within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization framework, as well as strengthening ties with the SCO partners on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual understanding. As the diplomat pointed out, India’s priorities in SCO are shaped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a SECURE SCO, where the acronym ‘SECURE’ stands for security, economic cooperation, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and environmental protection. In this context, it is pertinent to note that the SCO summit held on July 4 in Astana, Kazakhstan, made it amply clear in its declaration that the international community must isolate and expose those countries that harbour terrorists and condone terrorism. If not done so, and such countries are left unchecked, it can become a major threat to regional and global peace. For the record, the SCO is a ten-member international group focused on Central Asia, which India formally joined in 2015. Its other members are Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran; the four Central Asian nations, namely Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan; and Russia’s European ally Belarus.