On Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took part in the Russia-organised The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) videoconference with his counterparts from China, Russia, and Pakistan–among others–to discuss the COVID-19 crisis and the coordination of efforts to deal with the ensuing economic and social consequences.
During the meeting, Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s “strong commitment” to the joint fight against the pandemic and its “readiness to share information, expertise and best practices” with the SCO member countries, a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs reads. India gained full member status to the organization in 2017.
The Minister of External Affairs emphasised that the security challenges faced by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) states “are not linked by physical or political boundaries”. He also mirrored Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the Non-Aligned Movement virtual summit, by referring to new “viruses”, like terrorism, being spread by “others”, in what was a thinly veiled criticism of Pakistan. “Fake news and doctored videos are also used to divide communities and countries,” he said. He added, “Terrorism continues to be the overwhelming threat to security and stability in the SCO region and would require collective action.”
Not surprisingly, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also brought up Pakistan’s familiar talking points of “fascism, Militarism, Violent Nationalism, [...] and xenophobic ideologies, including Islamophobia” in an apparent dig at India.
In line with the concerns India raised about terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about the need to strengthen the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent. In the wake of continuing violent attacks in Afghanistan despite the signing of the US-Taliban peace agreement, Lavrov said that while the US was free to withdraw its troops and broker such a deal, it should have taken the interests and concerns of all parties in the region into consideration.
Lavrov also noted that the pandemic had raised questions about the future of the international relations system, with the spread of infection posing a challenge for nations as well as multilateral groups like the SCO. According to the TASS news agency, Lavrov said that the US was still attempting to promote its “vision of world order” during the coronavirus pandemic. He offered a stern rebuke of the US’ “order based on rules” saying that “they invent the rules themselves” and that they have escalated confrontation even during the ongoing pandemic.
Similarly, while the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi did not mention the US by name, the direction of his blame was clear. Wang also said that the international community should “reject attempts to politicize the response, label the virus, and stigmatize any specific country, in order to [...] win the fight against COVID-19”. He also called on global media outlets to “observe professional ethics, adhere to science and reason, stick to facts and truth, and commit to impartiality and balance”.
New Delhi, which has refused to take sides, took part in Wednesday’s meeting to signal its “multi-alignment” approach. However, on May 11, Jaishankar was on the call with members of the Quadrilateral grouping–US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian FM Marise Payne, Japan’s FM Motegi Toshimitsu–and Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Brazil’s FM Ernesto Araujo, and South Korean FM Kang Kyung-wha. During the 70-minute discussion, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo raised the need for “accountability” for the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a diplomatic euphemism for ramping up pressure on China. This deft balancing act by India in a span of three days gives a sense of Delhi’s approach in dealing with the diametrically opposed US-led and China-led blocs.
Image Source: The Wire
SCO Meet: India and Pakistan Trade Blows, China and Russia Hit Out at US
May 14, 2020
