At the annual summit of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in June 2009,
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh gave Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari a tough message: “I
am happy to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of
Pakistan must not be used for terrorism.”
Both countries were “observers”
at that summit, but India had for the first time expressed interest in joining
the SCO, and had been represented at the level of the Prime Minister. One of
the diplomats who had then seen value in joining the Eurasian political,
economic, and security organisation was Ajay Bisaria, Joint Secretary (Eurasia)
in the Ministry of External Affairs — now India’s High Commissioner to
Pakistan.
INDIA UPGRADES FROM BEING OBSERVER TO FULL MEMBER:
Ten years on, India will attend the SCO summit in Qingdao, China, on June
9-10 as a full member. Both India and Pakistan were admitted to the
grouping at its summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, last June. From then to now, world
politics has undergone several tectonic shifts, old assumptions have been
challenged, and new variables have entered the mix.
* US-IRAN: The United States has pulled out of the
nuclear deal (or JCPOA) between the P-5+1 and Iran, while the Europeans,
Chinese and Russians have stayed on.
* US-NORTH KOREA: US President Donald Trump and
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12,
the first ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
* INDIA’S INFORMAL SUMMITS: After the
two-and-a-half-month standoff at Doklam, India and China have attempted to
reset relations with an informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
President Xi Jinping in Wuhan.
* US SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA: The US has imposed
sanctions on Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through
Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which affects Indian defence purchases from its
strongest defence partner.
* US PAKISTAN: The US has delivered a public rebuke
to Pakistan for not cracking down on terrorists, and suspended military
assistance it.
* Prime Minister Modi has made
historic separate visits to Israel and Palestine, completing their
de-hyphenation.
* UK-RUSSIA: The chemical attack in Salisbury has
sharply escalated Russian-western tensions, and led to London and Moscow
expelling each other’s diplomats.
* REVIVAL OF QUAD: The India-US-Japan-Australia
quadrilateral has been revived against the backdrop of Chinese assertiveness in
the Indo-Pacific.
SCO GIVES OPPORTUNITY TO RESET TIES WITH PAK: During
his meetings in Qingdao over the weekend, Modi will have challenges to address
and opportunities to harvest. The summit provides an opportunity for the Indian
and Pakistani leaders to meet informally on the sidelines of a multilateral
event. The two sides are obliged to cooperate on issues of mutual interest
without bringing in their bilateral disputes. Signing off on joint
counter-terrorism exercises will be a new form of engagement between the
two militaries.
SCO GIVES DEPTH TO INDIA-CHINA COOPERATION: After
the frank and fruitful exchanges in Wuhan, the summit will provide the Indian
and Chinese leaders another opportunity to meet and talk. Doklam was resolved
just before the Xiamen BRICS summit last year; the summit in Qingdao could be
another marquee event for China to use to build ties with its neighbours.
RE-AFFIRM OLD FRIENDSHIP WITH RUSSIA: Russia has
been India’s staunchest supporter in the SCO, having lobbied hard with Beijing
for years to ensure its entry into the grouping. The conversation with
President Vladimir Putin will continue, picking up the threads from the informal
summit in Sochi last month. New Delhi has been clear that its relationship
with Moscow would not be impacted by the West’s approach towards the Kremlin.
CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH IRAN: Similar red lines
will be in play in India’s dealings with Iran, an observer state that has
applied for full SCO membership. India has a powerful strategic interest in
Iran’s Chabahar port, and Modi will have the opportunity to interact with
the Iranian leader at the SCO. The Trump administration is hostile to Tehran,
but New Delhi has been seeking to signal to Washington the alignment of
interests in Chabahar, which allows access to Afghanistan bypassing
Pakistan.
ENGAGE MORE WITH STANS: While the West has been
sceptical of India’s sitting down with the less-than-free regimes of Central
Asia, Russia and China, New Delhi has always been careful to not signal
alignment with these countries on issues of governance. The “Shanghai
Spirit” — the SCO’s driving philosophy — emphasises harmony, working by
consensus, respect for other cultures, non-interference in the internal
affairs of others, and non-alignment.
GREAT PLATFORM FOR INDIA TO PROJECT ITS VISION OF ITSELF:
The SCO’s main objective of working cooperatively against the “three evils”
of terrorism, separatism, and extremism sits well with New Delhi’s interests.
Indeed, the SCO summit gives India an opportunity to showcase the kind of power
it wants to be. As Modi heads to Qingdao, his foreign policy advisers will do
well to recall these lines from the former National Security Adviser, Foreign
Secretary, and envoy to both Pakistan and China, Shivshankar Menon’s Choices:
Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy: “India cannot rely on others for
its security because its economic, political, and security interests are
unique, a function of its unique history, geography, and culture. If we wish to
abolish mass poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and disease and modernise our
country… we can do so only by becoming a great power, with the ability to shape
the international system and environment to our purposes.”
“Strategic autonomy”, Menon
wrote, “is not just a slogan or a desire but a necessity if we are to transform
India”.
Credit: Indian Express Explained
(http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/shanghai-cooperation-organisation-narendra-modi-india-pakistan-china-russia-terrorism-5208702/)
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