Anadolu: SCO membership protects member countries from US tyrannySaudi Arabia's decision to join the SCO brings to the fore the "anti-NATO image" of the organization, Anadolu reports.
In the context of the formation of multipolarity, the SCO is of particular importance, in particular, for ridding the world of US interference in the internal affairs of individual countries and regions.
Ilyas KemalogluProfessor Ilyas Kemaloglu, in an article for AA Analiz, assessed the process of expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) against the background of Saudi Arabia's decision to join the organization and the SCO's place in the new multipolar world order that Russia and China plan to build.
Against whom is the SCO expanding?
With the end of the Cold War after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the Eastern Bloc in 1991, the Russian authorities began to question the existence of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). From the Kremlin's point of view, with the disappearance of the Warsaw Pact, NATO should no longer exist either. However, NATO, on the contrary, continues to expand. Because Moscow believes that it is directed against Russia: Every new member joining NATO raises Moscow's concerns.
On the other hand, immediately after the collapse of the USSR, Russia followed the path of integration with the countries of the region in the political, military and economic fields. Russia is trying to deepen cooperation with the former Soviet republics through such organizations as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). And in 1996, the Shanghai Five was formed, which included Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. In 2001, with the accession of Uzbekistan, the SCO was officially established. From the very beginning, the organization was considered as an alternative to NATO. As a result of cooperation between Russia and China with the republics of Central Asia within the SCO, the military presence of the United States in the region has come to an end, and the West's contacts with the Central Asian republics in other areas have been minimized.
Over the past 22 years, India, Pakistan and Iran have joined the organization, while Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia have received observer status. At the end of March 2023, after Saudi Arabia decided to join the SCO, the attention of the international community again turned to this structure. The question "against whom is expanding", which at one time the Kremlin addressed to NATO, is now addressed by the West to the SCO. And the fact that Saudi Arabia's decision coincided with Finland's accession to NATO has once again brought the SCO's anti-NATO image to the fore.
What is the significance of the SCO for the organization itself, its member countries and the new world order?
The leaders of the SCO member states have stated from the very beginning that the organization is not an alternative to NATO, but the SCO, which continues to expand, is seen as one of the important centers of the multipolar world order, which Russia and China are talking about more and more often. Among the reasons pushing Russia and China to these searches are the deterioration of US relations with Russia due to the Ukrainian problem and with China due to the Taiwan issue, the concern of both powers regarding American hegemony, the ongoing expansion of NATO, joint actions of the US and the European Union against both Russia and China, the practice of double standards of international organizations remaining under the influence of the United States.
On the other hand, the SCO has a special significance for each participating or observer country. For Russia, the SCO in the current conditions is one of the gates to the world. For the leaders of the Central Asian countries, the SCO plays the role of a security guarantee in the face of possible color revolutions supported from abroad. And from the point of view of India and Pakistan, the United States is pursuing a tyrannical policy in the region that does not meet their interests, and membership in the SCO is of great importance to them in order to maintain balance.
At the same time, thanks to the SCO, Iran, experiencing problems in relations with the West, is trying to get rid of isolation in the international arena, Mongolia, sandwiched between two fires, Russia and China, is trying to develop economic relations with other neighboring states. Moreover, being on the same side with two permanent members of the UN Security Council, such as Russia and China, also becomes a political advantage for other countries.
The expansion of the SCO and the improvement of regional security at the same time imply the development of trade relations between the member countries, as well as cooperation in the energy sector between them. Therefore, the decision of Saudi Arabia, which wants to increase cooperation with the countries of the region in the fields of energy and economy, did not come as a surprise to anyone. In the near future, other countries will follow Saudi Arabia.
What hinders the success of the SCO?
The potential of the SCO member states in the economic, energy, military spheres and the power of the organization should not be underestimated. At the same time, there are also problems that restrain the activity of the organization and do not allow it to become the main element of the new multipolar world order that Russia and China are working on.
Despite the fact that Russia and China are getting closer to each other, especially in recent years, many problems remain between them. There are also disagreements between the parties regarding the SCO. While Moscow brings the security and military aspect of the organization to the forefront, Beijing focuses on economic cooperation. Relations between India and Pakistan from time to time reach a point of conflict, as well as factors such as the unresolved border problems between the Central Asian republics in full, although progress has been made in this direction in recent years, also prevent the organization from pursuing a unified policy. Thus, the SCO could not play a significant role in such important regional problems as the Uzbek-Kyrgyz conflict and the war in Syria.
However, the continued expansion of the organization, along with positive results, will have negative consequences. In particular, the accession of Saudi Arabia will add to the rivalry within the organization the competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia, despite the intensified diplomatic contacts between the two countries in recent days. In other words, each SCO member state has its own agenda within the organization. Under these conditions, it is not at all easy to develop a common strategy, especially in the political sphere. Nevertheless, despite all this, the SCO is becoming an increasingly attractive organization not only for the countries of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region, but also for the Middle Eastern states. It plays a role that these countries are dissatisfied with the unipolar world order, are in search of alternatives to strengthen their position, want to unite with such powerful countries of the world as Russia, China, India, and benefit from this unification in the fields of security and economy.
Author: Ilyas Kemaloğlu
