SCO continues to search for operational framework

Sergei Blagov 6/11/02

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) minted itself as a full-fledged international organization at the recent St. Petersburg summit attended by the leaders of the six member states. However, the gathering revealed that the grouping remains in search of a unifying operational framework.

The leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan approved a 26-point charter at the June 7 SCO gathering in Russia's second city. The leaders also agreed to base the SCO secretariat in Beijing and to establish an anti-terrorism center in Kyrgyzstan. In a joint declaration, the SCO member-states stressed that global order should be based on "mechanisms of collective decision-making and democratization of international relations."

But comments by the various heads of state indicate that there are broad differences among the SCO states concerning the strategic priorities of the organization. When the first steps were taken in June 2001 to forge the SCO out of the informal Shaghai Five group of states, member states envisioned the organization as a counterweight to growing US economic and political influence. The September 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath exposed the SCO's weakness as a vehicle to promote regional security, forcing member states to reevaluate the group's strategic purpose. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives].

The group still seeks to be a geopolitical player in Central Asian developments. The St. Petersburg declaration, for example, noted that the SCO favored a move towards "new and stable Afghanistan, free from terror, war, drugs and poverty." Also, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov suggested June 8 that SCO member states should cooperate with the United States and other members of the anti-terrorism coalition in promoting stability in Afghanistan.

In addition, China and Russia are both interested in seeing the SCO develop a trade component. At a June 6 meeting prior to the start of the SCO summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin suggested that there is room for broad expansion of regional trade, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

The smaller SCO members – Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – prefer to emphasize the need for the rapid development of the SCO's anti-terrorism capabilities. Both countries have, in recent years, struggled to contain radical Islamic insurgents. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives]. The fighting capabilities of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were believed to be crippled during the US-led anti-terrorism campaign in late 2001. But according to a published report June 7, Kyrgyz security officials are worried that reconstituted IMU units are planning to launch new raids in Central Asia this summer.

Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev gave qualified support for the expansion of the SCO's mandate to include economic affairs, Kyrgyz television reported. Perhaps revealing concern that smaller SCO states would be vulnerable to exploitation by larger members, Akayev said that before substantive economic cooperation could occur, the member states would need to agree on guidelines concerning the extraction of minerals, and on the use of fuel and water resources. He also said fair economic competition would require the lifting a many trade barriers. Akayev went on to propose that transport and trade officials of SCO members gather in September to discuss methods to facilitate commerce.

Meanwhile, Uzbek President Islam Karimov gave only tepid support for the SCO's move to base the secretariat in Beijing and the anti-terrorism center in Bishkek. At the summit, he indicated that he would prefer to see the SCO largely remain a forum for the debate of global political issues.

Since September 11, Uzbekistan has closely aligned itself with the United States in the on-going anti-terrorism campaign. Uzbekistan is viewed by other SCO states as a fickle member, an image enhanced in recent months by the fact that Uzbekistan sometimes failed to send a representative to SCO sessions. On June 7, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev told journalists that under the SCO Charter a member-state could be expelled from the organization for "systematic non-compliance" with collective decisions.

Editor's Note: Sergei Blagov is a Moscow-based specialist in CIS political affairs.

Posted June 11, 2002 © Eurasianet