Nov. 19, 2023, 8:01 a.m.
(Photo: deepstateua.com)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was formed into an officially approved structure in 2001 and initially positioned itself as a local entity. In 2023, during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Iran officially joined the organization. Read more about the organization, which includes three countries of the so-called axis of evil, in the material of Intent from the series of publications about the activities of local international organizations.
General characteristics of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter - SCO) is an international organization that unites Russia and a number of Asian countries around a wide range of issues, including strengthening stability and security, fighting terrorism, separatism, extremism and drug trafficking, economic cooperation, etc. The organization is headquartered in Beijing. The official and working languages of the SCO are Russian and Chinese. Nine countries are members of the SCO: China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Fourteen countries are the so-called dialogue partners. Among them are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Three more states have the status of observer countries: Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia.
After China and the neighboring CIS countries managed to settle their territorial disputes, they had opportunities for cooperation. In 1996, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan formed the Shanghai Five. In 2001, Uzbekistan was admitted to the organization, which gave it its current name and official status. For a long time, it seemed that the SCO was an alliance of Central Asian countries with Russia and China, which had significant interests in the region. However, in 2017, India and Pakistan became members of the organization, and in 2023, Iran joined the SCO. In 2022, the process of upgrading Belarus' status to a member state was also launched.
Infographic of the SCO expansion. Infographic: visualcapitalist.com
The highest decision-making body in the SCO is the Council of Heads of State. It meets once a year and makes decisions on all key issues for the organization. The Council of Heads of Government meets once a year to discuss the strategy and priority areas of cooperation, address topical issues, and approve the annual budget. The SCO also holds regular intergovernmental meetings at the level of various ministries and agencies.
A meeting of the Council of Heads of State in Samarkand in 2022. Photo: SCO
The organization has two permanent bodies: The Secretariat and the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure. The heads of both bodies are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a three-year term. The Secretariat and the entire organization are headed by the Secretary General. Since January 1, 2022, the position has been held by Chinese diplomat Zhang Ming.
Security cooperation is one of the most productive areas of interaction between the SCO member states. For Central Asian countries, Afghanistan has traditionally been considered a problematic area, where drug trafficking, as well as terrorist and criminal elements, were moving from. In 2001, the members of the organization signed the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism. In 2004, the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure was created. According to a publication on the UN website, between 2011 and 2015, the SCO bodies stopped 20 terrorist attacks at the stage of preparation; prevented about 650 terrorist and extremist crimes; eliminated 440 terrorist training bases and about 1700 members of international terrorist organizations; detained more than 2700 members of illegal armed groups, their accomplices and persons suspected of criminal activity, etc. Also, 69 tons of heroin were seized during this period.
Since the first years of the SCO's existence, joint anti-terrorist military exercises have been conducted. It should be emphasized that the SCO has not militarily supported any armed conflict. Russia has repeatedly expressed a desire to expand military cooperation. In 2014, a proposal was even put forward to merge the SCO and CSTO. However, China regularly opposed the strengthening of military cooperation, seeing the SCO primarily as a tool for economic cooperation. And after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both SCO and CSTO members began to actively distance themselves from military cooperation with Russia.
Economic cooperation was supposed to be the main type of interaction within the SCO, given the strategically important location of the Central Asian countries and their energy potential. In 2003, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao proposed to introduce a free trade zone within the SCO in the long term, but the idea was never implemented. Multilateral economic projects within the SCO face differences in the legislation of member states, as well as the lack of a single vector for the organization's development and decision-making mechanism. This, of course, does not mean that bilateral agreements between SCO members are impossible. In 2009, Russia and China announced the conclusion of a $100 billion energy deal. However, it is not entirely clear whether the agreement should be considered a BRIC or SCO agreement or a private contract between two states. The SCO is currently developing more than 20 large-scale projects related to transportation, energy, and telecommunications. One of the most ambitious is China's Belt and Road, which aims to restore the Great Silk Road and connect China with Asia, Europe, and expand further through massive infrastructure investments. The project is expected to be completed in 2049 and cost $4-8 trillion.
Infographic: visualcapitalist.com
Cultural and humanitarian cooperation consists of jointly organizing Days of Culture and celebrating significant historical dates with the participation of artistic groups and artists. In 2008, the SCO University was formed, a network of universities in the SCO member states united by common study programs. The project includes existing leading universities of the member states. Future specialists are trained within the project in the areas of regional studies, ecology, energy, IT technologies, and nanotechnology. An important feature of the project is that students can continue their studies at any university in the network.
Celebrating the Day of Culture of Kazakhstan at the SCO Secretariat. Photo: SCO
The relationship between the SCO and the collective West can be characterized as rather complicated. The emergence of the Shanghai Five in 1996 could have been perceived in the West as positive rather than negative. First, the formation of a regional organization led by Russia and China could guarantee order in a region traditionally considered problematic because of the transit of drugs, weapons, and criminal elements from Afghanistan to Europe. Second, China's membership in the organization was a serious obstacle to Russia's dreams of restoring the USSR. On the other hand, the emergence of the Shanghai Five was supposed to lead to an obvious rapprochement between Russia and China. The result of the rapprochement of such powerful geopolitical players in Central Asia could have been a reduction in the influence of the United States, which also had its own ambitions in the region. It seems that in the wake of the euphoria of the collapse of the USSR and the birth of a unipolar world, the United States did not take into account the possible risks.
In 2005, the United States applied to the SCO for observer status, but was denied. In the same year, the SCO asked the United States to determine the time for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Shortly thereafter, the latter country insisted that the United States leave the Karshi-Khanabad base within six months. The Americans were able to agree to transfer the military contingent from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan to the Manas air base, but in 2009, under the influence of Russian financial injections into Kyrgyzstan's economy, the country also refused to allow the United States to leave.
In the 2000s, the SCO declared that it would retain its original number of members, which could hardly be considered a local organization. However, with the admission of India, Pakistan, and Iran, it has become an undisputed Asian hegemon. Washington has complicated relations with Pakistan and openly hostile relations with Iran, which makes relations with the SCO even more difficult. As it stands, the organization has a potential comparable to NATO: more than 40% of the world's population; powerful economies of China, Russia, and India; and at least four nuclear-armed countries. As for the EU countries, they are strongly interested in Central Asian energy resources, but the Russian-Ukrainian war may complicate the dialogue.
The SCO and NATO on the world map. Infographic: Wikipedia
In 2012, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych expressed a wish that Ukraine become an observer in the SCO, but in 2014, for obvious reasons, such ideas disappeared from the agenda. In 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some SCO members expressed their critical attitude to the aggression. In particular, at the SCO summit in Samarkand, the leaders of India and Turkey called on Vladimir Putin to end the war as soon as possible. Representatives of China have also repeatedly criticized the war. However, the peacefulness of these countries should not be overestimated. India, China, and Turkey have received obvious dividends from the Russian-Ukrainian war. This statement is proved by the fact that in July 2023, after the summit of the Council of Heads of State, Ukraine was not even mentioned in the final 10-page declaration.
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In 1996, the Shanghai Five began as an organization that saw its vocation as ensuring stability and peace in Central Asia. Nowadays, the organization, renamed the SCO, has welcomed India, Pakistan, and Iran into its ranks, making it a powerful force whose combined political, economic, and military potential is comparable to that of NATO. The fact that the latter three members can be grouped together on a certain principle is a cause for concern. Of course, they are all Asian countries. More importantly, however, India and Pakistan officially possess nuclear weapons, while Iran, according to experts, possesses them unofficially. The latter is also known for its intolerance at the level of state doctrine, as well as for its support of armed groups. The question of whether such gatherings indicate the beginning of a global rebellion should be answered in the negative. Rather, the "strengthening" of the SCO should be understood in the sense that Russia and China are irritated by NATO's power and capabilities, and they are looking for options to create a symmetrical alternative.
Interestingly, the relations between some members of the current SCO can be characterized as tense or even outright hostile. For example, India and Pakistan, which have recently joined the SCO, are in a state of cold war, which periodically turns into a hot phase. Relations between India and China, which fought in the second half of the twentieth century, are extremely tense. The last armed clash between the countries took place in 2020 and resulted in casualties on both sides. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are in a state of armed conflict.
The SCO no longer looks like an international organization with a clearly defined charter and decision-making mechanism, purpose of existence and development vector, but rather a forum for discussing various pressing issues. Given this, as well as the existing internal contradictions, the prospects for the SCO as a coherent entity look vague. Given the number of dictatorships in the organization, it will only be better if these contradictions intensify.
Олег Пархітько
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