The SCO is an organization focused on economic cooperation dominated by China. Its operating principle is very different from organizations such as NATO. The SCO has very little internal security, and all efforts are aimed at promoting cooperation. The concepts of “cooperation” and “integration” have differences. The SCO is more inclined toward cooperation, while NATO and the EU, for example, are more inclined toward integration (Söderbaum, 2015). Interstate cooperation does not go beyond a framework limited by sovereignty; integration, by contrast, means the transfer of some sovereignty within the integrating states. Many regions use integration economically, but not in the European way, and East Asia seeks market integration rather than organizational integration (Acharya, 2012). The organization’s activity is important in improving relations between Russia and China. Although the organization is not immune to tensions between the states, the countries hope for success. The next border conflict is between India and Pakistan. When India and Pakistan were admitted to the SCO, their relations were far from ideal, but now they resemble a low-intensity conflict. Problems have emerged on the India-China track. In 2018, after Narendra Modi visited Wuhan and his meeting with President Xi Jinping, the Indian press spoke of a “Wuhan spirit” of mutual trust between New Delhi and Beijing.
The organization called on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan not to destabilize the areas adjacent to the borders of its member states. Meanwhile, the Taliban seized control of a strategically important road and planted its flag on Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. Thus, the SCO is sending a clear signal: the organization and its members are interested in a peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan through the division of power between the conflicting parties.
The long-standing conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which periodically erupted into localized incidents on the border, has recently taken on truly threatening proportions with heavy equipment, military aircraft, and multiple rocket launchers. The escalation occurred against the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, attended by the leaders of both countries.
Thus, the SCO organization has serious problems with internal security, as it directs all its energies to cooperation between countries. External security is unified, but internal security remains weak due to unresolved disputes. The reason for this may be the lack of dominance. However, at the same time, the presence of authoritarian governments without democratic institutions, because of which the countries to begin to compete.
Reference List
Acharya, A. (2012). “Comparative regionalism: A field whose time has come?”. The International Spectator, 47(1), pp. 3-15.
Söderbaum, F. (2015). “Rethinking regionalism”. Macmillan International Higher Education.