Ready for a Larger Role

By+Chu+Yin

At its June summit， the Shanghai Cooperation Organization （SCO） expanded its membership for the first time. With the accession of India and Pakistan at the 17th SCO Summit in Kazakhstans capital Astana， the bloc now covers three-fi fths of Eurasia from the North Pole to South Asia， which means nearly half the worlds population as well as one-fi fth of global GDP.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the SCO Charter as well as the 10th anniversary of the Treaty on Long-Term Good Neighborliness， Friendship and Cooperation signed by SCO members. Against this backdrop， the SCOs expansion is historically signifi cant.

Pakistans Daily Mail reported foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakria as saying that Pakistans membership would help strengthen its connectivity with the region. He also said the SCO would provide Pakistan a good opportunity to play its role in addressing the challenges faced by the region， such as drug and human trafficking and security-related matters. The SCO would also help Pakistan improve its relations with Central Asian states.

“I look forward to deepening Indias as- sociation with the SCO which will help us in economic， connectivity and counter-terrorism cooperation， among other things，” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said， adding he looked forward to further progress in ties with SCO nations for “mutual betterment and growth of our countries and our people.”

The summit came up with a development blueprint for the SCO and also approved a series of important documents. They included a convention on combating extremism， marking a big stride taken by the SCO to safeguard regional stability and promote common prosperity.

Security achievements

As an organization dedicated to addressing regional security issues， the SCO has made remarkable achievements in safeguarding regional security， combating terrorism and building consensus on cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping noted this while addressing the summit， saying that SCO member states were “making solid progress on the road to building a community of shared future， thus establishing a fine example of the new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation.”

Looking back at the history of the SCO as well as looking forward to its development orientation after the expansion， a distinctive feature emerges. The SCO is committed to resolving security problems by promoting cooperation on regional development. With security， stability， development and prosperity as the target， it is trying to achieve security through economic growth and development.

The ratification of the SCO Convention on Combating Extremism marks the imple- mentation of Xis proposal on countering terrorism at the SCO summit in Dushanbe， Tajikistan， in 2014.

The convention provides a new legal footing for combatin g the “three evil forces”of terrorism， separatism and extremism. Extremism is the breeding ground of terrorism. For a long time， the international community， including the SCO， was unsure of how to define extremism. Separating extremism from religious doctrine and preventing extremist ideas from spreading under the guise of religious activity will help to contain the rampant terrorism in todays world.

The acceptance of the Chinese proposal as an international convention indicates another contribution by China to the global anti-terrorism campaign.

The convention is also an SCO achievement in stabilizing regional security， strengthening collective cooperation and jointly combating terrorism and extremism.

The Shanghai Spirit， characterized by mutual trust， coordination on an equal footing， respecting cultural diversity as well as seeking common prosperity， is the soul of the SCO.

Following the Shanghai Spirit

Since its founding， the grouping has firmly adhered to the Shanghai Spirit， observing the principle of coordination for consensus and participating in international affairs and global governance.

The Astana Summit， following the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation hosted by China in Beijing， combined the spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative， the popular name for the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road， and the Shanghai Spirit. It also clubbed security problems with development problems to build a community of common destiny.

At the Astana Summit， President Xi proposed economic and trade cooperation， holding defense and security forums and drawing up cooperation outlines for combating the “three evil forces” in the next three years. Other proposals included starting a feasibility study for a free trade agreement， and establishing an economic think tank alli- ance and an e-commerce business alliance.

Since the SCO was founded， its members have been deepening their economic and trade ties. They have managed to share resources by extending the collaboration frontiers from energy to free fl ow of regional commodities， personnel， materials and services.

With India and Pakistans inclusion， the bloc has a new opportunity for development.

But the expansion may also mean new challenges. With a protracted， and sometimes fierce， territorial dispute between India and Pakistan， their accession may require time for adaptation. The key to addressing the challenge is to rely on the spirit of a community of common destiny.

With its expansion， the SCOs regional and international infl uence as well as global status will rise and it will play a much larger role in global governance and international security cooperation.

Faster response

The expansion also updates the security mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. Unlike the U.S.-dominated regional security mechanism which is based on the U.S. alliance system， the SCO doesnt get into alliances. It is an institutionalized cooperation organization that evolved from a regular dialogue mechanism. Therefore， it doesnt rely on the traditional idea of an “alliance.” It has no imaginary adversaries and it respects all membersideas.

SCO members will take joint action based on coordination. Compared with the Shangri-La Dialogue， a second-track mechanism also dedicated to regional security， the SCO， as an intergovernmental international organization， can take swifter and much stronger action. It can better translate the outcomes of meetings into policies and carry out cooperation in different fi elds .