India's SCO membership gives room for hedging interests, says expert

Being part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) doesn't have much strategic value for India apart from allowing it room for hedging its interests, feels Brahma Chellaney, a renowned strategic affairs expert.

“For India, the SCO may hold some value, even if limited value as part of India's multi alignment strategy especially balancing India's widely perceived tilt towards the West. So to show that it prizes its strategic independence, India's participation in the SCO meetings may have symbolic benefit. But I think the SEO does not offer India much strategic value, other than permitting some degree of hedging,” Chellaney said during an interaction with CNBC-TV18.

By engaging with the SCO, India can balance its relationships with other regional and global powers effectively.

Earlier, speaking at the virtual SCO summit, Prime Minister Modi took a veiled dig at Pakistan and China, saying that countries need to curb terrorism and protect territorial integrity of all SCO members.

Victor Gao, representing the Center for China & Globalisation (CCG), expressed his hopes for the SCO's role in fighting terrorism. Gao emphasised the importance of the Organisation devising schemes and strategies to enable member countries to join forces in their fight against terrorism.

“I would hope SCO will come up with a scheme so that member states of the SCO will really cooperate with each other in their collective fight against terrorism, not only as originally envisioned out of Afghanistan, but anywhere in the world, especially affecting the SCO members. Therefore, I truly believe SCO will engage in more popularity, and the SCO is the future that the world will increasingly see.”

Recognising the threats posed by terrorism to regional stability, Gao believes that the SCO has the potential to play a more constructive role in maintaining stability and ensuring the safety of its member nations.

Among the various expectations from the SCO, Victor Gao also emphasised the importance of member countries cooperating to promote globalisation and free trade. In an increasingly interconnected world, Gao believes that the SCO can act as a catalyst for fostering economic cooperation, reducing trade barriers, and expanding opportunities for its member nations.