{"id":46339,"date":"2025-06-26T21:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=46339"},"modified":"2025-06-26T21:38:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:08:38","slug":"sco-defence-ministers-meeting-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-06-2025\/sco-defence-ministers-meeting-2","title":{"rendered":"Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers\u2019 Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India has refused to sign a joint declaration <\/strong>at the <strong>Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers\u2019 meeting <\/strong>in Qingdao, China.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is not satisfied with the language of the joint document and there was <strong>no mention of cross-border terrorist activities specially recent Pahalgam Terror attack.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The refusal to endorse the document <strong>resulted in the conclave ending without a joint communique.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shanghai Five <\/strong>emerged in <strong>1996 <\/strong>from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks between<strong> 4 former USSR republics and China.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan<\/strong> were members of the <strong>Shanghai Five.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With the accession of <strong>Uzbekistan<\/strong> to the group in <strong>2001<\/strong>, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Objective:<\/strong> To enhance regional cooperation for efforts to curb terrorism, separatism, and extremism in the Central Asian region.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Members: <\/strong>China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus and the four Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India became a full member in <strong>2017 <\/strong>and assumed the rotating <strong>chairmanship in 2023.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Member countries contribute around <strong>30 per cent of the global GDP <\/strong>and about <strong>40 percent of the world\u2019s population<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Observer status:<\/strong> Afghanistan and Mongolia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Language:<\/strong> The SCO&#8217;s official languages are Russian and Chinese.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Structure: The supreme decision-making body<\/strong> of the SCO is the<strong> Council of Heads of States (CHS) <\/strong>which meets once a year.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Organization has 2 standing bodies<\/strong> \u2014 the Secretariat in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance for India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Regional Security:<\/strong> The SCO serves as a platform for addressing security concerns, including terrorism, separatism, and extremism, which are critical issues for India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Through SCO\u2019s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), India collaborates on intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Balancing China and Pakistan:<\/strong> While both are SCO members, the forum allows India to assert its position and prevent the formation of anti-India narratives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Security:<\/strong> Central Asia is rich in oil, gas, and uranium. SCO membership allows India to strengthen energy ties with these countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Cooperation: <\/strong>The organization facilitates economic collaboration among member states, which enhance trade and investment opportunities for India, particularly with Central Asian countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Central Asia:<\/strong> The <strong>SCO is especially important for India<\/strong> because its membership and focus emphasize <strong>Central Asia<\/strong>\u2014a region where <strong>India is keen to ramp up ties<\/strong> but faces an inherent constraint with its outreach.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>China-Pakistan Axis:<\/strong> The strong partnership between China and Pakistan within the SCO complicates India&#8217;s strategic positioning, as at times it limits India&#8217;s influence in regional security discussions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geopolitical Tensions: <\/strong>Ongoing border disputes and geopolitical tensions with China and Pakistan spill over into SCO discussions, making it difficult for India to engage constructively.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus on Security over Economic Development: <\/strong>The SCO&#8217;s primary focus on security issues sometimes overshadow economic and developmental cooperation, which are crucial for India\u2019s interests in the region.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Institutional limitations:<\/strong> Decision-making within SCO is consensus-based, slowing progress on key issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SCO is a strategic platform for India to engage with Eurasian powers, promote regional stability, secure economic and energy interests, and enhance counter-terrorism cooperation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Despite challenges, India uses SCO to promote its vision of \u201cSecurity and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)\u201d and as a counterbalance to Western alliances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsonair.gov.in\/india-refuses-to-sign-joint-declaration-at-sco-defence-ministers-meeting-in-china\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>AIR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India has refused to sign a joint declaration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers\u2019 meeting in Qingdao, China.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India is not satisfied with the language of the joint document and there was no mention of cross-border terrorist activities specially recent Pahalgam Terror attack.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The refusal to endorse the document resulted in the conclave ending without a joint communique.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-06-2025\/sco-defence-ministers-meeting-2\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46339"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46356,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46339\/revisions\/46356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}