India and the SCO: Cooperation amidst Geopolitical Turbulence

Sanjay Pulipaka: On July 04, India will host a virtual summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Considerable preparatory work preceded the virtual summit meeting. In April, there was a meeting of the SCO Defense Ministers, followed by SCO foreign ministers’ meetings, in May, in India.

The SCO virtual summit meeting is happening in a specific geopolitical context. The Russia-Ukraine conflict constitutes a significant backdrop. There are concerns that Moscow is increasingly tilting towards Beijing because of the war. There is a debate as to whether international politics is witnessing the emergence of a new Cold War, with Russia and China on one side and the West led by the US on the other.

However, deploying the Cold War frameworks has inherent limitations. Unlike the Cold War, significant economic interactions exist between almost all the major powers today. Further, the geopolitical landscape is not divided into competing and rival blocs. If not a Cold War, there is an increasingly competitive dynamic between the US and China and an evident hostility between Washington and Moscow.

Amid increased turbulence in international politics, Delhi is also attempting deft diplomacy to maintain close relations with the US and Russia. From June 21 to June 23, the Indian premier had a very successful State visit to the US. A few days later, on June 30, the Indian Prime Minister and Russian President, in a telephone conversation, stressed the importance of strengthening the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.’ Despite significant structural changes in international politics, India-Russia relations have remained steady. As India’s External Affairs minister noted, along with geopolitical logic and robust defence ties, there is an upswing in the economic relations with Russia. India is collaborating with Japan, the US and Australia under the rubric of Quad in the Indo-Pacific. Simultaneously, India is also a member of the SCO, which has Russia and China as founding members.

The argument that there is a contradiction in India’s participation in diverse regional frameworks needs critical evaluation. India has a long border and robust historical engagement with continental regions in Asia. India’s extensive coastline and strategic location in the Indian Ocean have contributed to its rich history of maritime activities. Therefore, India must engage with frameworks such as the Quad in the Indo-Pacific and scale up interactions with continental frameworks such as the SCO.

The SCO was established in 2001 as a cooperative regional mechanism that focuses on political and security concerns related to Central Asia and its member countries. The initial membership was constituted by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Over the years, the membership of the SCO has expanded. For instance, India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017. Iran will also become a full member of the SCO on July 04 at the Council of Heads of State meeting. Interestingly, the SCO is emerging as a trans-regional organisation with countries from South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia as members.

Over the years, India has been making strenuous efforts to circumvent Pakistan’s blockade on India’s continental interactions with Central Asia. India is attempting to consolidate connectivity projects via Iran into Afghanistan. With an improvement in Iran and Saudi Arabia relations, there is a possibility of reduced sectarian violence in the Gulf and its adjoining regions. Saudi Arabia may soon join the SCO as a dialogue partner. With such possibilities and Iran formally becoming a member of the SCO, there may be more opportunities for developing alternative connectivity projects involving Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Despite connectivity challenges, India-Central Asian countries have been working to scale up economic interactions. India exports commodities such as apparel, pharmaceuticals and machinery and imports raw materials like ores, agricultural commodities and fertilisers from Central Asia. In addition to economic interactions, India has been at the forefront of providing humanitarian relief.

Amid the brutal COVID-19 pandemic, India shared vaccines, medicines and medical equipment with the Central Asian countries. For instance, India supplied 7.959 lakh doses and 8.905 lakh doses of vaccines to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, respectively. India also provided Hydroxychloroquine tablets to Kazakhstan. For Central Asian countries, India also extended developmental assistance in various sectors such as agriculture, information and technology, and hydro-power.

For India, the SCO is also critical to have coordinated action on terrorism. The SCO charter explicitly mentioned the need for a “joint counteraction to terrorism, separatism and extremism in all their manifestations.” At the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in April this year, India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh called on the member countries to eliminate “terrorism in all its forms and fix accountability on those who aid or fund such activities.”

While the international community struggles to respond to the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, the remnants of al-Qaeda and new terror outfits such as ISKP continue to stalk the Af-Pak region. With the fragile security dynamic in the Af-Pak region, it becomes critical for India and the Central Asian countries to increase cooperation in combatting terrorism. In the recent past, India hosted a joint anti-terror exercise with Russia and Central Asian countries under the rubric of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of the SCO.

Further, India also has bilateral Joint Working Groups on Counter-terrorism and conducts defence exercises with many countries in Central Asia. For instance, last year, India and Uzbekistan conducted Dustlik military exercises. India and Kazakhstan also conducted KAZIND military exercises in Meghalaya in 2022. There have been instances when India used an airbase in Tajikistan to carry out HADR and related activities.

India is seeking to intensify its engagement with Central Asian countries despite considerable turbulence in global politics, connectivity challenges and hostile policies of its Western neighbour. In addition to bilateral engagements, the SCO is one of the important intergovernmental frameworks through which India works to ensure greater stability, peace, and prosperity in its continental neighbourhood.

As the Indian economy grows, the density of its international engagements will also increase. India is not only a member of numerous international organisations but is also taking charge by hosting and setting the agenda in many of them. As the chair of the SCO, India has made persistent efforts to include the diverse voices of all its member countries and sought to expand the agenda. Over the past few months, under the rubric of the SCO, India has hosted numerous meetings on diverse themes such as emerging fuels, energy, medicine, the MSME sector and tourism. In the coming months, India will host the G20 summit, which will provide another opportunity to engage with some SCO member countries.