Be Mains Ready

Approach

• Explain the formation of SCO and its mandate.
• Mention the opportunities and challenges it presents for India.
• Explain the measures that India must take for strategic balancing with respect to SCO.
• Conclude by suggesting India’s future approach towards SCO.

Introduction

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), or Shanghai Pact is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance. Its member countries include China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. It is considered as a major regional organization connecting South Asian and Central Asian countries. SCO’s latest summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in June 2019.

Body

India joined SCO in June 2017. However, India’s SCO membership poses certain challenges as well as opportunities for India.

Challenges

India has conflicting interests with other SCO members in the following terms:

• Strategic balancing between USA and SCO: India’s inclination towards USA restricts it from openly criticizing the US trade war policies against China which rest of the SCO members strongly condemn.
• Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Central Asian countries support Gwadar Port and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a potential passage for the landlocked states of Central Asia. However, India opposes BRI on grounds of sovereignty as CPEC passes through PoK.
• Other SCO members view terrorism from the angle of improving the situation in Afghanistan and not necessarily of curbing the terrorist elements emanating from Pakistan.
• Also through BRI and SCO, China will be successful in uniting Eurasia to challenge a united Europe. This scenario will prompt China and Russia to enter into a new era of global strategic partnership. This might not be in India's strategic interest.

Opportunities

• Multilateral cooperation: It provides opportunity to make the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure more effective, and participate in efforts to bring stability in Afghanistan.
  
  • Central Asian countries back India’s proposal for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
  • Connectivity: SCO is a potential platform to advance India’s Connect Central Asia policy.
  • Huge potential to improve economic, political and strategic ties: India’s bilateral trade with Central Asia stands at about $2 billion only. There is huge potential to work in areas of hydrocarbon exploration and production.
  • Also, the SCO is relevant for India to garner support for UNSC reforms.
• China: It provides a platform to counterbalance China’s present dominance in the Central Asian region. Also, bilateral dialogues can help in averting Doklam like situations in the future.
• Russia: SCO further provides an opportunity for developing economic cooperation and to explore Russia’s Far East region. Also, it can further boost Indo-Russian military partnership.
• Pakistan: Opportunity to diplomatically isolate Pakistan in the region. Pakistan can be pressurized against its illegitimate moves like banning its airspace for India and not allowing its territory for trade with Afghanistan.

Due to such challenges, India has to take certain measures for strategic balancing with respect to SCO:

• India should use this platform for diplomatic gains against Pakistan and China with Russia’s support by extending its influence in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
• India should use SCO to accelerate progress on the regional connectivity projects like:
  
  • International North-South Transport Corridor
  • Chabahar Port
  • Ashgabat Agreement

India can use its cultural ties with Central Asian countries to enhance people-to-people contact and further boost bilateral relations.

Conclusion

With subtle diplomacy and resolute action, India can counter the limitations and turn the membership into an opportunity. In this sense SCO provides another avenue for extending India’s influence in its ‘extended neighbourhood’.