A New Regional Integration

In terms of population, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is one of the largest regional organizations in the world. On June 1^st, Vladimir Putin announced at an annual summit that India will be admitted as an official member to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).  

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian organization founded in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India will be admitted to the organization as a full time member on June 8^th, 2017. India has been an ‘observer state’ since 2005 and applied for full membership in the year 2014, alongside Pakistan. The organization although not a military one, fosters cooperation among members to promote security and trade in the region.  

India, Not Straying Away From Regional Matters…

With the forgone decision of staying out of ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) initiative, India may have lost out on asserting itself as a regional player, having been a major ‘non-signatory’ South Asian Country. However, this initiative would make a comeback for India by enhancing trade and security relations with other members of the organizations. Members include China and Pakistan, which would mean that India would have a common space to cooperate and collaborate with these countries, to forge stronger ties on various issues.

A crucial area under security is combating terrorism, under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a special segment deals solely with promoting ways to combat terrorism under the ‘Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure’ (RATS) which would include joint-military exercises.

Cooperation Not Without Tension?

Iskander Akylbayev, Research Fellow at the Department of Foreign Policy and International Security, Astana asserted that there are concerns, as there is a long history of mistrust between the two countries and although counter-terrorism cooperation is possible under Shanghai Cooperation Organization, both states may prefer multilateral exercises over bilateral exercises.

Considering the nuances that followed along both these countries’ borders, there is skepticism about how the two countries will cooperate. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) includes agreement on ‘Border Defence Cooperation’ which will somewhat challenge India and Pakistan who have fought major wars for acquisition over Kashmir.

Boosting Presence in the Region

It is essential for a country to make efforts to foster cooperation with other countries. This is not because of one but many reasons that define our globalized world today. Regional security would help promote stability which is essential to the overall development of any region.

India being part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will no doubt benefit from it as the organization focuses primarily on areas of security and trade. The SCO could also prove to be useful as it provides a platform for India and Pakistan (who is also a new member) to cooperate on ‘anti-terrorist efforts’.

Although, long term disputes could not be resolved immediately, there is hope that ‘joint initiative’ under the SCO would gradually help soften the ice between India and Pakistan. Perhaps this could be one of the many hopeful beginnings?