Xi Jinping backs India, Pakistan’s memberships in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Chinese are generally seen taking the side of Pakistan when it comes to India-Pakistan issues but Beijing has spoken in a different tune about the two South Asian rivals' presence in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently said while addressing the representatives to the 13th meeting of Security Council secretaries of the SCO in Beijing that with the entry of India and Pakistan, the SCO has gained more potential for cooperation and the international community's expectations from it have also gone up.

"SCO members have fought the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism and made important contributions to regional peacekeeping, development and prosperity," Jinping was quoted as saying by a state-controlled Chinese newspaper.

India and Pakistan joined the SCO - a Eurasian security organisation comprising China, Russia and the four central Asian republics - at its Astana summit in June 2017 and its next summit is due in Qingdao in June 2018 where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present.

Security officials from the member countries, including India and Pakistan, met in Beijing for a two-day meeting in the run-up to the summit. India's Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) Rajinder Khanna and Pakistan's NSA Nasser Khan Janjua besides top security officials of the SCO member countries called on the Chinese president after the conclusion of the meeting, PTI reported. The SCO was formed in June 2001 and is headquartered in Beijing.

Jinping, who met Modi at an informal summit in Wuhan in China on April 27-28, said the members of the SCO should promote strategic direction of cooperation in the realm of security besides mutual strategic trust; enhance policy coordination, value justice and strive for joint resolution of burning regional issues through political and diplomatic means.

The SCO members should uphold the strategic direction of security cooperation, continue to boost mutual strategic trust, enhance coordination of policy, uphold justice and jointly push the resolution of regional hot issues through political and diplomatic measures, Xi said.

Xi called on the other SCO members to build up their capacity for joint security operations and build an efficient law-enforcement cooperation network.