WHAT IS SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION (SCO)

Last Updated on August 1, 2021 by srikanta

Many of you may want to know what Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO is? How it operates? Which countries are its member? What India is getting by being a part of this organisation? well, if you want your answers then read this blog carefully and we will try to answer all.

SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION (SCO)

It is an organization that seeks political, economic, and security alliances. It is having 8 countries as its member which are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, India and Pakistan. Now we know that Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are part of Central Asia. India and Pakistan are part of south Asia. China is part of East Asia. And finally Russia is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. That’s why the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is also referred to as a Eurasian political economic and security alliance. Another reason is because all these member states are part of the Eurasian plate.

WHEN SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION WAS STARTED?

This organization was announced on 15^th June 2001 in Shanghai. But it came into force on 19^th September 2003. Initially Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan were not part of it. . At the begining it was known as Shanghai 5 grouping. Then Uzbekistan joined in 2001 and finally India and Pakistan joined in 2017.

HOW SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION OPERATES?

The heads of state council is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It includes the President or the Prime ministers of the respective member states. They approve the budget of the organization, discuss major issues related to political, economic and security matters within the organization. The second highest council in the organization are the council of heads of government which consists of the the Prime minister. After that the respective foreign ministers discuss these situations and agendas. The heads of state council meets once in a year. There they adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organization. Military exercises are also regularly conducted among members to promote cooperation and coordination against terrorism. Also it is essential to maintain regional peace and stability.

READ ABOUT QUAD AND IT’S OBJECTIVES

SOME FACTS ABOUT SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION !

• The SCO is the largest regional organization in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population.
• This organization is also regarded as the alliance of the East due to its growing centrality in Asia pacific.
• This has been the primary security pillar of this region.
• We can somewhat compare this with NATO. As NATO is called the Western Nations Political and Military Alliance; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is regarded as the Alliance of the East.
• Sometime it is referred to as anti-NATO Alliance.
• The SCO has four observer states which are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia. The role of an observer state is to observe the functioning of the organization and how discussions and meetings are conducted.
• After being an observer state they become dialogue partner where they can take part in discussions. SCO has 6 dialogue partners which are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri lanka.

LEARN ABOUT QUAD AND ITS OBJECTIVE

GEO-POLITICAL SITUATIONS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRY

TURKEY

• You may be aware that Turkey is also a member of NATO. It is very much aware of its geographical advantages and it is a strong regional player.
• In the past it was first surrounded by the Europeans and then the Russians and then the Americans.
• Now the Americans are leaving, the Russians are not coming back and the British are busy in other things. So suddenly Turkey is unfolding its wings.
• Apart from the issue on the Yukon Muslims; China and Turkey has a lot to benefit from each other.
• Turkey can seek China for funding high-profile mega-projects in developing the Turkish economy. Otherwise Turkey always has to seek financial help from western dominated institutions such as the international monetary fund.
• Turkey has a large market for energy, infrastructure, defense technology and telecommunications while sitting at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa.

NEPAL

• China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Nepal.
• China’s funding is evident across major infrastructure and energy projects in Nepal. These include the West Seti Dam, The Pokhra Airport and Upper Trishuli Hydropower project etc.

SRI LANKA

• China has also gained control of Sri lanka’s ports through its debt trap diplomacy.
• Then there is Chinese investment in railway lines, power plants and many more infrastructure projects.
• China is the largest investor in Sri lanka today.

CHINA

• Chinese are having heavy influence over Nepal and Sri lanka through political and economic investments. Most of the investment are part of the belt and road initiative.
• The China-Pakistan economic corridor is China’s plan of getting access to the energy fields of central Asia.
• Both Turkey and China share a common vision over challenging the hegemony of the United states and their created institutions.

INDIA

• The geopolitical situation is not that great for India.
• We all know that India has serious and legitimate concerns with China and Pakistan.
• In October 2019  India has threatened to cancel a 2.3 billion dollar project with Turkey to co-manufacture ships for the Indian navy.
• When India removed article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, the Turkish president criticized this move and showed open support for Pakistan in the united nation.
• During the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict Turkey openly supported Azerbaijan. But India supplied military radars to Armenia who is a political opponent of Azerbaijan.
• Although Nepal has historically enjoyed close economic ties with India but presently it is enjoying the Chinese investment.

CLICK HERE TO ABOUT ISRAEL AND PALESTINE CONFLICT

WHAT DOES THIS MEMBERSHIP ACTUALLY MEAN FOR INDIA?

The answer is very straightforward but before answering that read the present geopolitical situation of these countries inside Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

So, what does this membership actually mean for India? India is not going to get enough benefit from this Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Whatever may be India’s interests or primary goals, it will cancel because the organization has India’s key rivals like Pakistan and China.

Anyways we hope you found this blog informative. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you for reading.

Please like our Fb page to stay updated.