As Modi Redefines SCO, How Does It Fit Into India's Strategic Vision?
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The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-founded multilateral grouping, appears to have gained prominence in India, especially after the US administration introduced a range of punitive trade measures against New Delhi last month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday redefined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as Security, Connectivity and Opportunity.
"On the first pillar, 'S' - that is, Security, I would like to emphasize that security, peace, and stability form the foundation of any nation’s development. However, terrorism, separatism, and extremism remain major challenges along this path," Modi said during the plenary session of the 25th SCO summit in Tianjin.
Terrorism is not only a threat to the security of individual nations but a shared challenge to all of humanity. No country, no society, no citizen can consider themselves completely safe from it. That is why India has consistently stressed the importance of unity in the fight against terrorism, he added.
"I would now like to share my thoughts on the second pillar, 'C' – that is, Connectivity. India has always believed that strong connectivity does not merely facilitate trade but also opens the doors to trust and development. It is with this vision that we are working on initiatives such as the Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor. Through these, we can enhance our linkages with Afghanistan and Central Asia," the Indian leader underlined.
Describing the third pillar, he stated that "O", which is "Opportunity".
He explained that it was an "Opportunity for Cooperation and Reform".
In 2023, under India's presidency, the SCO witnessed fresh energy and ideas, Modi noted.
"New areas of cooperation were introduced, including start-ups and innovation, traditional medicine, youth empowerment, digital inclusion, and our shared Buddhist heritage. Our effort was to take SCO beyond governments. To connect people, young scientists, scholars, and start-ups as well," he underscored.
India is using SCO to hedge its bets with the United States. India has also believed in multilateralism, but is keenly aware that regional organisations are tools for countries to forward their interests, according to Suyash Desai, a Non-Resident Fellow in the Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI).
"The SCO is a tool with China and India has been careful in engaging with it. But this time, it was more about the optics and strategic messaging to Washington," Desai told Sputnik India.
Meanwhile, Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma, a Senior Research Fellow at the national security think tank NatStrat, reckons that SCO is a multilateral platform where India engages China in the presence of its traditional and trusted partner, Russia. Moreover, there are no ideal relationships in the world, especially among big powers.
"SCO is a mechanism to manage India-China ties amongst the global chaos, which opens avenues for opportunity between the two sides. At the same time, the two nations can also work to manage their differences through the SCO," Sharma stressed in an interview with Sputnik India.
Such initiatives help India's connectivity efforts to Eurasia and overcome its connectivity bottlenecks in the region. Iran and the Central Asian countries have been supportive of such Indian efforts as they bring regional benefits. SCO may not directly play a role in such efforts, but can facilitate this process through its platform, he concluded.
