SCO is crucial for India to emerge as a third option in Central Asia

The Prime Minister pointed out that India was not a new entrant as, for thousands of years, it had a shared heritage with the region through cultural and people-to-people ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s description of the Central Asian countries as part of India’s “extended family” and shared heritage is an attempt to consolidate India’s position in this crucial region, where Russia and China are already engaged in a tussle for influence.

The Central Asian countries are leaning more towards China, which has been increasing its footprint as Russia’s clout has been on the decline.
India, too, has intensified its engagement with the region in the past years as it has been trying to offer itself as a third alternative to the other two regional powers.

The region’s importance was spelt out clearly by Modi as he chaired a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on July 4, 2023.

Importance of SCO

While making clear India’s commitment to the SCO, Modi said it has emerged as a significant platform for peace, prosperity and development in the entire Asian region.

The SCO member-countries represent 40 percent of the world’s population and about one-third of the global economy. With the prospect of many countries in the region joining the SCO, its importance, as a leading platform in Eurasia, is likely to grow further in the near future.

The Prime Minister pointed out that India was not a new entrant as, for thousands of years, it had a shared heritage with the region through cultural and people-to-people ties.

India announced its vision for the SCO through the principle of SECURE—security, economic development, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and environmental protection.

As an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Modi said the SCO members can utilise Iran’s Chabahar Port, and that the International North-South Transport Corridor can serve as an efficient route for the landlocked Central Asian countries to access the Indian Ocean.

The North-South Corridor is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail and road routes for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. The two ends of the corridor are at Mumbai and Moscow.

Afghanistan and the twin challenges of terrorism and radicalism
Modi also highlighted the need for a secure, peaceful, inclusive, and stable Afghanistan as it impacts Central Asian nations and other countries.
He took the opportunity of the summit to stress on the importance of countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Without naming Pakistan, he said countries that use cross-border terrorism and continue to shelter terrorists should be called out for their “double standards.”

The Prime Minister also highlighted the threat of “radicalism” among youth and called the SCO to deal with this rising menace.

However, Modi's main thrust was on cooperation between the SCO countries for mutual growth, development and prosperity while also focusing on the interests and aspirations of the Central Asian countries.

A bridge between democracies and autocracies

India’s chairing the SCO summit comes within days of Modi’s travel to the United States, where he engaged with the Joe Biden Administration to strengthen and deepen Indo-US strategic partnership.

The SCO has Russia and China—two major adversaries of America -- as members, and as Iran joins the group, it is likely to have an anti-American tilt and promote an alternative world order to the one championed by the US.

The SCO is emerging as the most prominent Eurasian platform for cooperation in areas ranging from security and connectivity to trade, culture, environmental cooperation to Artificial Intelligence and other digital technologies.

India’s presence is an indication of its strategic autonomy and ability to act as a bridge between democracies and autocracies to safeguard its own interests.

India’s interest in Central Asia

Central Asia has been important for India from historical times as it fell within the important trade route. Delhi’s engagement with the region remained robust during the days of the Soviet Union. But in the post- Soviet era, connections between the two sides were seriously disrupted because of the war and instability in Afghanistan.

In recent years, India has revived its links and under Modi they have gathered momentum.

But Russia and China are already dominant forces there and the Central Asian elites are keen to develop strong ties with China as an option to Russia.

China has spread its influence through trade and infrastructure development under the BRI. It is also trying to develop strategic cooperation with the Central Asian countries.

However, ordinary people are not impressed with China. They have not benefited from its growing presence as there has been no employment or better job opportunities for most of the work has been done by workers brought from China.

By promoting pro-people’s programmes like startups and innovation, traditional medicine, a host of policies for youth empowerment, digital inclusion and shared Buddhist heritage, India is trying to offer itself as a third option in Central Asia.

Despite Russia’s growing dependence on China because of the fallout from the Ukraine war, Moscow is unlikely to give up its traditional space in Central Asia to Beijing without a fight.

As it hots up in the coming days, India should be in a position to take advantage of the emerging scenario.