New Delhi: While the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is not a platform for bilateral issues, the defence ministers’ meeting highlighted policy priorities, with India focusing on terrorism, while Russia reiterated its criticism of the west’s Indo-Pacific concept and creation of groups like the Quad.
While addressing the meeting on Friday, April 28, Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh underlined that any form of terrorist act or support towards it was a heinous crime against humanity.
“If a nation shelters terrorists, it not only poses a threat to others, but for itself too. Radicalisation of youth is a cause of concern not only from the point of view of security, but it is also a major obstacle in the path of socio-economic progress of society. If we want to make the SCO a stronger & more credible international organisation, our top-most priority should be to effectively deal with terrorism,” said Singh, as quoted by a government communique.
Later, speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the meeting, defence secretary Giridhar Aramane emphasised that all member countries were “unanimous in their statement that the terrorism, in whatever form, shall be condemned and controlled”.
While the issue of terrorism may have been pointed towards Pakistan, India also reiterated that a “robust” framework of regional cooperation should respect the “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states by taking care of their legitimate interests”.
The Chinese state councillor and defence minister Li Shangfu said Beijing was willing to work with other SCO members to implement the “Global Security Initiative”, which was a concept floated by President Xi Jinping in April 2022. A paper was also issued by the Chinese foreign ministry on GSI this February.
Besides, Li also said that China wanted to “deepen strategic mutual trust, enhance anti-terrorism cooperation, expand fields for cooperation and improve cooperation mechanisms, so as to contribute to global and regional peace and stability”.
The Chinese statement also highlighted that Li asserted that Beijing was ready to work with other member states to “build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture”.
The Russian defence minister General Sergei Shoigu took a blunt aim at the West for attempting to integrate the emerging security architecture in the Indian Ocean with NATO.
“The West’s countermeasures for developing multilateralism could be evidently observed in the Asia-Pacific region. There the USA paved the way to disintegration of existing regional security system… The NATO is willing to establish dominance in Asia-Pacific region, that is why QUAD and AUKUS is integrating into the NATO,” he said
Russia has always opposed the Indo-Pacific policy, advocated by the West and supported by India, describing it as an attempt to encircle China. Along with the US, Japan and Australia, India is also a member of the Quad, a loosely-formed group of democracies.
The Russian ministers expressed his belief that the SCO’s “independent policies” towards global and regional security challenges could serve as a blueprint for the international community.
He emphasised the need to strengthen SCO’s role as a key pillar of the emerging multipolar international system, one that promotes inter-state relations based on principles of equality, mutual respect, and compliance with international law.
Raising the Ukraine war, he said that the aim of the West in “provoking” the conflict in Ukraine was “inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, threaten China, and maintain its monopoly position in the world”
Moreover, he alleged that the weapons provided to Ukraine had ended up on the black market and had been acquired by terrorists.
Additionally, the General stated that NATO countries should bear the primary responsibility for post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan and should not be blamed for the current situation in the country.
Besides a virtual participation by Pakistan, defence ministers of eight SCO member states attended the meeting in New Delhi.