At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting which took place in New Delhi under the chairship of India, ministers from Russia, China, the Central Asian nations as well as observer nations Iran and Belarus discussed critical issues related to regional security.
Those present during the meeting which was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh included Russia’s Sergei Shoigu, Tajikistan’s Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, Iran’s Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiyani, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, and Kazakhstan’s Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov are among those attending the meeting in Delhi. Malik Ahmed Khan, SAPM on Defence Affairs attended SCO Defence Minister’s Conference on behalf of Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif.
Besides the regional issues, the ministers also talked about the security challenges in Afghanistan, cross border terrorism, radicalization, narco trafficking among other issues. The priority of the SCO members’ nations is to further enhance efforts to combat terrorism and extremism.
India has been urging the member countries to also focus on military medicine and to devise ways to deal with new emerging threats the soldiers face by the ever-advancing battlefield technology. Among the existing challenges and threats faced by the soldiers also include the threat of chemical, biological and nuclear warfare.
Who are the members of SCO?
The organization was set up in 2001 by Russia and China and Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan. And in 2017 India and Pakistan became full members of the grouping. Prior to that India was participating in ministerial level meetings of the grouping as observers since 2005. The defence ministers of the member countries focus on economic cooperation and security in the Eurasian region.
It has also been reported earlier that India at every meeting has pushed for deepening its security-related cooperation with the other countries and Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS). RATS is responsible for dealing with issues which relate to defence and security.
India-China
In a bilateral meeting which lasted almost an hour on Thursday in New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in his meeting with visiting Chinese Defence Minister Gen Li Shangfu made it clear that the there is a need to resolve the border tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as it has impacted the bilateral relations between the two countries. Singh also underlined all issues related to the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with the existing commitments as well as agreements in place, as disengagement at the border will be followed logically by de-escalation.
The bilateral meeting between the two ministers comes at a time when the forces of both sides have been locked in a standoff for three years now.
Sources in the defence and security establishment have said that the military relations between the two sides can only progress well when there is peace and tranquility at the border.
Financial Express Online has reported earlier that forces have disengaged from the northern and southern banks of the Pangong Tso, Hot Springs and Gogra since the standoff began in May 2020. However, tensions remain at two friction points: Depsang Plains and Demchok.
India has been pushing for de-escalation at every meeting and this means return of additional troops and equipment deployed in forward areas to their pre-April 2020 positions.