India to use Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in its war on terror

NEW DELHI: India will look to provide a leg-up to its fight against terrorism with its full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the six-nation security grouping which has a critical role for peace and stability in resource-rich central Asia and Afghanistan.
PM Narendra Modi will on Thursday depart for the SCO summit in Astana where the heads of all six member-states - China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan-will endorse the full membership of both India and Pakistan, bringing to an end a protracted process for expansion of the grouping.
"I look forward to deepening India's association with the SCO which will help us in economic, connectivity and counter-terrorism cooperation, among other things," Modi said in his pre-departure statement. Modi said he looked forward to further progress in ties with SCO nations for "mutual betterment and growth of our countries and our people".
Whether a meeting materialises between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif - the government said there's no proposal yet - the PM's bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit is expected to be a highlight in Astana.
While India will seek to bridge the gap with Central Asian countries on issues related to trade, connectivity and energy through the membership of SCO, terrorism will be a key focus area for the government. The presence of Pakistan in the group is unlikely to act as a deterrent. India and Pakistan, along with the other six countries, will participate in joint exercises against terrorism under Tashkent-based RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure) of SCO.
MEA joint secretary (Eurasia) G V Srinivas said, as a member, India will participate fully in any SCO exercise, including on terrorism. "There's little possibility of India staying out of such an exercise. We hope to benefit from RATS joint exercises against terrorism and also its data bank on terrorists,'' he said.
"We work with many countries, including Pakistan, in UN peacekeeping operations and terrorism is a fight which is incumbent on entire humanity, not just countries," said MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay, responding to a query on whether or not India would be invited to participate in any anti-terror exercise alongside Pakistan and China.
While full membership of SCO is significant for India, the fact is that it took New Delhi more than 10 years to get an upgrade from its current Observer status. The reason for the delay of course was the initial opposition from China to India's membership. Beijing went on to ensure that Pakistan too became a full member along with India. One of the challenges which India is likely to be faced with though within SCO is the endorsement of China's OBOR, which India says impinges on its sovereignty in the form of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, by all other member states.
Asked about India's position, Srinivas said India was only accountable to the documents it has formally signed to become a full member. "The 38 documents we have signed as a part of the formal membership process make no mention of it (OBOR),'' he said.