Is India serious about the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)? Prime Minister Modi is attending the current summit in Tianjin, China, but skipped two summits earlier and attended one virtually.
“There is a perception that has gone around, particularly in the Central Asian states, which is not very helpful for us because the original idea of joining SCO was to help India improve its footprint in Central Asia,” said Nandan Unnikrishnan, head of the Russia studies programme at the Observer Research Foundation.
“So after two misses and one virtual we have some ground to cover. It’s equally an opportunity for the Central Asian leaders to discuss with Modi, issues linked to connectivity, investments and so on.”
More important is that this summit will mark Modi’s return to China after a gap of seven years. That’s hugely symbolic for the SCO as a platform, it means it is playing a role in the Eurasian landmass. And if one adds Modi’s meeting with Vladimir Putin, that’s another huge plus.
Terrorism is expected to be a major point of discussion and this is not only because India wants it with Pakistan in mind. The Central Asian states, too see terrorism as a challenge but in the context of Afghanistan.
“When we talk of terrorism we are essentially talking of Pakistan as the mothership from where all this emanates, but the other members of Asia … see Afghanistan as the training ground … the drugs trafficking, smuggling of arms, smuggling of terrorists, takes place primarily from Afghanistan,” Unnikrishnan said.
Have the Trump tariffs pushed India into a corner, forcing it to move towards Russia and China to gain some leverage?
“If you look at it chronologically, you will see that with China it started in October last year, before the Trump presidency,” he said. “I don’t think you can link it to the tariff wars … as far as Russia is concerned I think we started after the Ukraine war.”
Tune in for more in this conversation with Nandan Unnikrishnan of the Observer Research Foundation
Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.
