New Delhi – Some countries are trying to use cross-border terrorism as an instrument for their policies. However, terrorism cannot be supported in any way. SCO has no reason to hesitate to criticise such countries’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he targeted Pakistan and China. While addressing the ‘Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’, Prime Minister Modi clearly stated India’s role in the fight against terrorism in front of the leaders of China and Pakistan. Along with this, the Prime Minister congratulated Iran on getting the membership of ‘SCO’. With Iran joining the SCO, it would be possible for India to develop the Chabahar port more thoroughly, claimed the Prime Minister during the event.
The annual meeting of ‘SCO’ was organised in India. However, India declared that the meeting would be held virtually. Due to this, China couldn’t use this meeting to show off that it shares good relations with India. Thus, the official Chinese media criticised India a lot. However, in this virtual meeting, Prime Minister Modi reprimanded Pakistan and China for using and supporting terrorism. ‘Some countries are doing terrorist activities from across their borders to achieve their objectives. The SCO member countries should not hesitate while condemning it outright,’ Prime Minister Modi put forward such a demand on the occasion of this meeting. Along with this, the evil trend of providing financial assistance to terrorists to all other kinds of aid is equally a matter of prohibition, slammed the Prime Minister. Along with terrorism, the increasing influence of extremism on the youth also proves to be a big challenge, Prime Minister Modi said as he drew attention to this fact.
Moreover, the Prime Minister reprimanded Pakistan, which is carrying out terrorist activities against India. He further slammed China, which is stopping the action of the UN Security Council against the leaders of Pakistani terrorist organisations. However, he did so without direct mention of them. Prime Minister Modi also said there can be no place for double standards on a serious subject like terrorism. Due to India’s pressure, a tough stand has been adopted in the joint statement of ‘SCO’ against terrorism.
Meanwhile, Iran was granted membership in this organisation in this meeting of ‘SCO’. The Prime Minister congratulated Iran on the achievement of getting this membership. With Iran becoming a member of the SCO, it would be possible to develop the Chabahar port more effectively, claimed the Prime Minister. It will increase the ease of India’s opening trade with Central Asian countries away from the coast; the Prime Minister expressed confidence.
Furthermore, there is a need for infrastructure development and connectivity-enhancing projects in the two countries. However, while taking these projects forward, it is very important to respect the sovereignty of other countries, said the Prime Minister. Despite India’s expectations, China and Pakistan pushed the ‘Economic Corridor’ project ahead. This project is also being developed in India’s sovereign territory ‘PoK’ occupied by Pakistan. Hence, India has opposed it. The Prime Minister admitted this in his speech and warned that this project of China-Pakistan is illegal.
Russian President Praises India
Russian President Vladimir Putin appreciated India’s leadership as the chairman of SCO. Addressing the meeting, President Putin appreciated the initiatives taken by India for the SCO. India has provided good leadership to the SCO during its chairmanship by promoting paddy, digital transformation and adopting a role against extremism and terrorism to end the shortage of food grains, President Putin has said.
A few days ago, the Russian President praised the initiative of self-reliant India and conveyed that Russia should adopt such a great, successful initiative of its friendly country. This time, while speaking at the meeting of ‘SCO’, the Russian President demanded that the member countries of ‘SCO’ should use local currencies while doing trade and business with each other. Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi also appealed to the member countries of ‘SCO’ to avoid using the dollar in trade.
At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed concern about the activities of starting a new cold war in this region. Although it has not been mentioned clearly, China is concerned that the strategic cooperation between India and the United States has been established only to stop China. China is demanding that India should not stand with the US against China. However, China is not ready to stop its activities against India and those that hurt its interests.
Considering China’s relations, India has adopted a soft position on this issue till today. However, considering India’s generosity as a weakness, China is now facing India’s strict policy. Thus, India has strategically decided to increase cooperation not just with the United States but also with other countries against China. Due to this, the Chinese President is worried about a new cold war sparking in this region.
