Hindustan Times (Amritsar)

Major player with a minor agenda

India’s role in SCO will depend on its ties with China, Pakistan

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rime seems announceme­nt that his Minister “major to country, have Narendra players” earned by China Russian a Modi’s within and small leader India prize informal the would Vladimir eight-member by way summitry be designated Putin of an Shanghai (SCO). other than It remains Cooperatio­n symbolic, unclear this Organisati­on what designatio­n benefit, brings that this to label India. has But not there been will affixed be some to it heartburn though it in joined Pakistan SCO along There India with is little may India. evidence struggle among to live the up to many this statements diplomatic issued promotion. about regarding SCO by New what Delhi it wanted that India to do has inside any clearly SCO — defined other than set of to goals be a member. long-standing New counter-terrorism Delhi has been happy focus. to It add will its also voice prove to an SCO’s able participan­t will be circumspec­t in the organisati­on’s in its contributi­on military to SCO’s exercises. Regional But India AntiTerror­ism Structure given the requiremen­t that intelligen­ce must be shared with all members, China and Pakistan included. That India has such a thin agenda should not come as a surprise. Eurasia has been a backwater for Indian diplomatic and economic relations for decades. The primary reason is simply a matter of geography. India has no land boundary with any Central Asian country. This isolation is compounded by the fact the region is dominated by two large countries, China and Russia, leaving little space for a distant third power. India has tried to find some means around these constraint­s, most notably by trying to construct a North-South Connectivi­ty Corridor from the Iranian coast up into Central Asia.

The SCO will remain a minor interest for the foreseeabl­e future. How much India can accomplish will depend in part on how its ties with China and Pakistan evolve, whether it can get a functionin­g land bridge to Central Asia and which direction events in Afghanista­n will develop. It is the environmen­t India creates for itself in Eurasia that will determine whether it can be a major player.

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