.
With the rise of Asia as a global powerhouse, the world has become increasingly more integrated and inter-dependent. While it can be argued that the role and sphere of NATO may be declining, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an entity that is clearly on the rise with the member countries (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) posing as strategic adversaries to American and Western European interests in Central and Southern Asia.

The 10th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, which was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, showcased the efforts of China and Russia, traditional rivals and one time adversaries, to work in concert to counteract the U.S. sphere of influence in Central Asia. This was accomplished by focusing on “economic, security and humanitarian cooperation.” Efforts by the SCO member nations focused on intergovernmental cooperation and major emphasis was placed on investment in infrastructure, transportation, research and development, and high tech projects in Central Asia as a way to gain trusted partners and curry favor with governments in Central Asia. These governments are growing increasingly concerned with the inability of the United States to establish long lasting economic and political ties with countries in the region because of the increasingly volatile economic and fiscal crisis in the United States. This situation has recently forced President Obama to divert attention from global initiatives aimed at promoting positive economic and political ties with Central Asia and instead focus on bringing Democratic and Republican leaders together to raise the debt ceiling and get America back on a sound financial footing.

The SCO, as the only major international organization not to include the United States or any of its traditional allies, called for combating the “three forces of extremism, separatism, and terrorism”. The prospect of the United States establishing a permanent military foothold/presence in Afghanistan continues to worry China and Russia as well as deployment of any missile defense system by the United States in the region. Thus, the SCO summit dealt with Russia’s repeated criticism of the planned NATO missile defense system in Europe and what kind of impact it would have on Central Asia. More intensive and stronger cooperation between SCO member countries and Afghanistan was addressed and there was a strong emphasis on encouraging Afghanistan’s neighbors to help in the rebuilding process of Afghanistan, thereby rejecting a “purely military solution.” At the SCO, Afghanistan formally announced its intention to become “an official SCO observer” While both China and Russia have begun seeking to expand their economic and political influence in the country, Kazakhstan, according to President Nurusultan Nazarbayev, will promote cooperation in fighting drug-trafficking and organized crime in Afghanistan, given the fact that Kazakhstan is at the center of the flow of heroin from Afghanistan heading towards Western Europe and the USA.

The emphasis by the SCO summit on Afghanistan reflects the regional importance of the country in light of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) to transfer security cooperation to Afghan forces by 2014.

While the SCO has been increasing security cooperation among the member states, which have included joint Russia-China military exercises and meetings of high ranking military officers of SCO countries, the SCO does not appear to have a strong vibrant military alliance like NATO or the former Warsaw Pact. The proposed membership of India and Pakistan, who are traditional enemies and rivals, makes a strong military alliance among SCO countries very problematic. Consequently, at the summit, Pakistan openly expressed its support for cooperation with SCO to finance joint ventures in green energy, infrastructure, education, science, and technology and pointed to China’s pivotal role in promoting economic and political dialogue, praising China’s economic support of the recently opened port at Gwandar as essential for the growth and development of Pakistan’s economy. This is reflective of the power that China wields as the dominant actor in the SCO in an effort to avert US influence in the region.

The SCO also addressed the growing concern of the Arab Spring and how it would impact countries in the region. China and Russia believe that control, order and stability are key components of an effective political regime which allows a degree of free market capitalism to generate increased prosperity for its people. Ensuring equality of opportunity as a way to retain power is not necessarily viewed as favorable by all SCO member states as one might expect. In fact, the SCO summit is one of the few places where Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, is still welcome because many SCO member countries believe that one should generally not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. However, the Arab Spring raises issues of democracy and equality of opportunity which SCO member countries cannot ignore.

One of the highlights of the SCO summit was a discussion about how to move towards a new world currency. Nazarbayev believes that a stable and robust currency is needed to counteract the influence of the Western economies and this would necessitate SCO member countries returning to the gold standard. According to Nazarbayev, “The SCO is capable of doing this. The Swap operations that we started is the first step. This is necessary for equal cooperation within the SCO.” While Mahmoud Ahmedinejad actively called on the SCO to take an active role in “undermining the US- led global system of slavery and colonizers”, the SCO member countries tended to shy away from such counter-productive rhetoric. At the SCO, countries advocated seeking peace, regional security and cooperation, especially in light of the domestic date within the United States regarding raising of the debt limit.

The controversy in the USA surrounding raising the debt limit causes concern among the world community because of the international repercussions if the USA defaults on its debt. China’s decision to grant SCO member countries access to the Chinese Export Import Bank (Chinese will invest 8 billion) reflects the desire of member countries for the creation of an SCO Development Bank so countries will not have to rely on Western financial institutions which are still facing debt issues resulting from the 2008 global financial crisis.

The SCO meeting reinforced member countries’ interest in the creation of an “SCO energy club” which has gained enormous traction under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan. There was adoption of an agreement on universal health care for member countries as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the UN aimed at tackling regional drug interdiction and trafficking. There was also the creation of a conflict prevention and assessment mechanism supported by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China as a response to the 2010 unrest that engulfed the nation of Kyrgyzstan following the overthrow of its government.

In conclusion, through China’s expanding global influence and presence in Central Asia, the SCO has developed into an “indispensable constructive forum for the Eurasian landmass and a regional cooperation organization that the member countries can trust and rely on.” By establishing the Business Council and the Interbank Association, two nongovernmental organizations aimed at financing business development projects, the SCO is intent on engaging Central Asia. This may shift the focal point of the Asia-Pacific region away from the Pacific as the gateway to doing business and receiving financing in the global economy and move towards Central Asia. The SCO has the potential to rival Western dominated institutions, like NATO, in the very near future especially with the inclusion of India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan.

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.

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www.diplomaticourier.com

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization

October 29, 2011

With the rise of Asia as a global powerhouse, the world has become increasingly more integrated and inter-dependent. While it can be argued that the role and sphere of NATO may be declining, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an entity that is clearly on the rise with the member countries (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) posing as strategic adversaries to American and Western European interests in Central and Southern Asia.

The 10th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, which was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, showcased the efforts of China and Russia, traditional rivals and one time adversaries, to work in concert to counteract the U.S. sphere of influence in Central Asia. This was accomplished by focusing on “economic, security and humanitarian cooperation.” Efforts by the SCO member nations focused on intergovernmental cooperation and major emphasis was placed on investment in infrastructure, transportation, research and development, and high tech projects in Central Asia as a way to gain trusted partners and curry favor with governments in Central Asia. These governments are growing increasingly concerned with the inability of the United States to establish long lasting economic and political ties with countries in the region because of the increasingly volatile economic and fiscal crisis in the United States. This situation has recently forced President Obama to divert attention from global initiatives aimed at promoting positive economic and political ties with Central Asia and instead focus on bringing Democratic and Republican leaders together to raise the debt ceiling and get America back on a sound financial footing.

The SCO, as the only major international organization not to include the United States or any of its traditional allies, called for combating the “three forces of extremism, separatism, and terrorism”. The prospect of the United States establishing a permanent military foothold/presence in Afghanistan continues to worry China and Russia as well as deployment of any missile defense system by the United States in the region. Thus, the SCO summit dealt with Russia’s repeated criticism of the planned NATO missile defense system in Europe and what kind of impact it would have on Central Asia. More intensive and stronger cooperation between SCO member countries and Afghanistan was addressed and there was a strong emphasis on encouraging Afghanistan’s neighbors to help in the rebuilding process of Afghanistan, thereby rejecting a “purely military solution.” At the SCO, Afghanistan formally announced its intention to become “an official SCO observer” While both China and Russia have begun seeking to expand their economic and political influence in the country, Kazakhstan, according to President Nurusultan Nazarbayev, will promote cooperation in fighting drug-trafficking and organized crime in Afghanistan, given the fact that Kazakhstan is at the center of the flow of heroin from Afghanistan heading towards Western Europe and the USA.

The emphasis by the SCO summit on Afghanistan reflects the regional importance of the country in light of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) to transfer security cooperation to Afghan forces by 2014.

While the SCO has been increasing security cooperation among the member states, which have included joint Russia-China military exercises and meetings of high ranking military officers of SCO countries, the SCO does not appear to have a strong vibrant military alliance like NATO or the former Warsaw Pact. The proposed membership of India and Pakistan, who are traditional enemies and rivals, makes a strong military alliance among SCO countries very problematic. Consequently, at the summit, Pakistan openly expressed its support for cooperation with SCO to finance joint ventures in green energy, infrastructure, education, science, and technology and pointed to China’s pivotal role in promoting economic and political dialogue, praising China’s economic support of the recently opened port at Gwandar as essential for the growth and development of Pakistan’s economy. This is reflective of the power that China wields as the dominant actor in the SCO in an effort to avert US influence in the region.

The SCO also addressed the growing concern of the Arab Spring and how it would impact countries in the region. China and Russia believe that control, order and stability are key components of an effective political regime which allows a degree of free market capitalism to generate increased prosperity for its people. Ensuring equality of opportunity as a way to retain power is not necessarily viewed as favorable by all SCO member states as one might expect. In fact, the SCO summit is one of the few places where Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, is still welcome because many SCO member countries believe that one should generally not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. However, the Arab Spring raises issues of democracy and equality of opportunity which SCO member countries cannot ignore.

One of the highlights of the SCO summit was a discussion about how to move towards a new world currency. Nazarbayev believes that a stable and robust currency is needed to counteract the influence of the Western economies and this would necessitate SCO member countries returning to the gold standard. According to Nazarbayev, “The SCO is capable of doing this. The Swap operations that we started is the first step. This is necessary for equal cooperation within the SCO.” While Mahmoud Ahmedinejad actively called on the SCO to take an active role in “undermining the US- led global system of slavery and colonizers”, the SCO member countries tended to shy away from such counter-productive rhetoric. At the SCO, countries advocated seeking peace, regional security and cooperation, especially in light of the domestic date within the United States regarding raising of the debt limit.

The controversy in the USA surrounding raising the debt limit causes concern among the world community because of the international repercussions if the USA defaults on its debt. China’s decision to grant SCO member countries access to the Chinese Export Import Bank (Chinese will invest 8 billion) reflects the desire of member countries for the creation of an SCO Development Bank so countries will not have to rely on Western financial institutions which are still facing debt issues resulting from the 2008 global financial crisis.

The SCO meeting reinforced member countries’ interest in the creation of an “SCO energy club” which has gained enormous traction under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan. There was adoption of an agreement on universal health care for member countries as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the UN aimed at tackling regional drug interdiction and trafficking. There was also the creation of a conflict prevention and assessment mechanism supported by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China as a response to the 2010 unrest that engulfed the nation of Kyrgyzstan following the overthrow of its government.

In conclusion, through China’s expanding global influence and presence in Central Asia, the SCO has developed into an “indispensable constructive forum for the Eurasian landmass and a regional cooperation organization that the member countries can trust and rely on.” By establishing the Business Council and the Interbank Association, two nongovernmental organizations aimed at financing business development projects, the SCO is intent on engaging Central Asia. This may shift the focal point of the Asia-Pacific region away from the Pacific as the gateway to doing business and receiving financing in the global economy and move towards Central Asia. The SCO has the potential to rival Western dominated institutions, like NATO, in the very near future especially with the inclusion of India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan.

The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.