{"id":239716,"date":"2023-04-26T19:49:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T14:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=239716"},"modified":"2023-04-27T18:17:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T12:47:46","slug":"sco-meet-highlights-chinas-growing-role-in-inner-asia-indias-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/sco-meet-highlights-chinas-growing-role-in-inner-asia-indias-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"SCO meet highlights China\u2019s growing role in Inner Asia, India\u2019s challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source-<\/strong> The post is based on the article \u201cSCO meet highlights China\u2019s growing role in Inner Asia, India\u2019s challenge\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 26th April 2023.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS2- Regional groupings and agreements<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– SCO meeting of defence ministers is taking place in New Delhi this week.<\/p>\n

What are the internal contradictions in SCO?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Its ability to cope with the intra-state and inter-state conflicts<\/strong> among the member states is now under scrutiny. Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine is raising questions about Moscow\u2019s capacity to sustain primacy<\/strong> in its backyard.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s rise<\/strong> is increasing the prospects for Beijing\u2019s emergence as the dominant force<\/strong> in inner Asia.<\/p>\n

There are internal conflicts<\/strong> in the SCO. There are serious conflicts between India and China, Delhi and Islamabad, as well as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.<\/p>\n

Preventing conflict<\/strong> between the member states and associates is a high priority for the SCO. But the forum\u2019s record here is not impressive<\/strong>. Afghanistan\u2019s internal instabilities have been a major driver for the SCO. But SCO was not able to play the role of the regional security arbiter.<\/p>\n

In January 2022, there was a major internal upheaval in Kazakhstan.<\/strong> It was not the SCO, but the Russian army that intervened to stabilize the situation.<\/p>\n

There are issues between Central Asian regimes and Russia. Russian leaders have often dismissed Central Asian states as artificial nations. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Vladimir Putin\u2019s vision of the Russian world<\/strong> underlines Moscow\u2019s special responsibility to protect Russian minorities beyond its formal borders. No Central Asian neighbour has endorsed the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Russia is deeply entrenched within the Central Asian state system with strong ties to local elites and security establishments<\/strong>. Many Central Asians work in Russia and send valuable remittances home.<\/p>\n

After Ukraine, the Central Asian states are looking to intensify their diversification strategie<\/strong>s to reduce their reliance on Russia.<\/p>\n

Kazakhs talk about \u201cmulti-vector diplomacy<\/strong>\u201d. Some regional actors are seeking to expand their influence in Russia\u2019s backyard. Turkey and Iran are two prime examples. There is also rising role of China in these countries<\/p>\n

What are different viewpoints about China’s growing influence in Central Asia?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some observers argue that China\u2019s growing regional influence<\/strong> will come at Russia\u2019s expense. Others point to the fact that Russia and China have drawn closer than ever before. They have little reason to quarrel over Central Asia.<\/p>\n

Moscow\u2019s muscle and Beijing\u2019s money<\/strong> provide a sensible basis for their strategic division of labor<\/strong> in Central Asia. It will keep the Western powers out of the region.<\/p>\n

A third argument agrees that China has no reason to replace Moscow as the main power in Central Asia <\/strong>in the near term. But it warns against underestimating Beijing\u2019s long-term ambitions in the region.<\/p>\n

Beijing provides explicit support to the sovereignty <\/strong>of the Central Asian states. As per Chinese President Xi Jinping, China will continue to resolutely support Kazakhstan in protecting its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n

What are options for India at SCO?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Delhi\u2019s engagement with the SCO was premised on Russian primacy<\/strong> in the region and Moscow\u2019s support of India\u2019s regional interests<\/strong>. For India, a strong and independent Russia<\/strong> is critical for maintaining the inner Asian balance. <\/strong><\/p>\n

However, India is in no position to ensure Moscow\u2019s strategic autonom<\/strong>y from Beijing. That depends on Russian strategic choices. <\/strong><\/p>\n

India must now protect its own interests in SCO amidst a rapidly changing regional power distribution <\/strong>in China\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source- The post is based on the article \u201cSCO meet highlights China\u2019s growing role in Inner Asia, India\u2019s challenge\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 26th April 2023. Syllabus: GS2- Regional groupings and agreements News– SCO meeting of defence ministers is taking place in New Delhi this week. What are the internal contradictions in SCO? Its… Continue reading SCO meet highlights China\u2019s growing role in Inner Asia, India\u2019s challenge<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,9723,10498],"class_list":["post-239716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-shanghai-cooperation-organisation","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1703677874},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239716\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}