In what is being viewed as a tough message to Pakistan, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries to collectively work towards eliminating terrorism in all its forms and fix the accountability on its supporters.
Chairing a conclave of the defence ministers from SCO nations, Singh said India envisioned a robust framework of regional cooperation which “mutually respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states by taking care of their legitimate interests”.
Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif skipped the meeting of the SCO Defence Ministers hosted by India. Islamabad, however, sent in Wali Ahmed Khan, Special Assistant to PM Shareef. He attended the meeting via video link.
With Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu listening, the Indian defence minister unequivocally said that New Delhi strives to further bolster trust and cooperation among the members of the grouping as it believes in “maintaining peace and security based on the provisions of the UN Charter”.
“Rajnath Singh urging the SCO member states to fix accountability on those who aid or fund terror activities is the most significant part of the statement which is being seen as a tough message to Pakistan,” diplomatic sources told The Daily Guardian.
Similarly, the defence minister’s message for China on peace and respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty of all member countries of the SCO was quite clear. Elaborating on the need to contain terrorism effectively, Rajnath Singh asserted that any kind of terrorist act or support to it in any form is a major crime against humanity and peace and prosperity cannot coexist with this menace.
“If a nation shelters terrorists, it not only poses a threat to others but to itself too. The radicalisation of youth is a cause of concern not only from the point of view of security, but it is also a major obstacle in the path of socio-economic progress of society,” Singh said. “If we want to make the SCO a stronger and more credible international organisation, our top-most priority should be to effectively deal with terrorism,” he added.
Rajnath Singh did some plain speaking on terrorism while addressing his counterparts from China, Russia, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He stressed on the need to root out terrorism collectively and fix accountability on its supporters. At the end of the meet, all SCO member countries signed a protocol expressing their collective will to make the region (Eurasia) secure, peaceful and prosperous.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Union defence secretary Giridhar Aramane stated that all SCO member nations arrived at a consensus on several areas of cooperation, including dealing with terrorism, security of vulnerable populations in various countries as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. He said that all member states were unanimous in their statements that terrorism, in all its forms, must be condemned and eliminated.
Rajnath also called for concerted efforts by the SCO member states, so that the region, with limitless possibilities in today’s multilateral world, shifts to the mindset of ‘great gain from win-win paradigm’ from ‘great game of zero sum, win-lose paradigm’.
Rajnath Singh also spoke about the two defence-related activities launched by India, as the SCO chair, to increase interoperability among member states and spoke about India’s commitment towards defence capacity building of SCO member states through training and co-manufacturing & co-development of items.
He stated that as security challenges are not limited to any one country, India is moving forward with a collaborative approach in the field of defence partnership, keeping in mind the shared interests.