{"id":52205,"date":"2025-06-28T10:00:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T04:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=52205"},"modified":"2025-06-28T11:33:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T06:03:45","slug":"india-refuses-to-sign-sco-statement-over-terrorism-omission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/india-refuses-to-sign-sco-statement-over-terrorism-omission\/","title":{"rendered":"India Refuses to Sign SCO Statement Over Terrorism Omission"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>India SCO Statement 2025 Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India refused to endorse the joint declaration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers\u2019 meeting in China, objecting to the omission of references to terrorism.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the current SCO chair, Beijing hosted the 2025 defence ministers&#8217; meeting in Qingdao.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the MEA, India had strongly pushed for including terrorism concerns, but one country blocked the consensus, leading to the exclusion and India\u2019s decision to withhold endorsement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SCO is a regional bloc of 10 countries: India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is the world\u2019s largest regional organisation by area and population.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Origins and Formation<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SCO evolved from the \u201cShanghai Five\u201d (1996), formed by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to address post-Soviet security concerns, including religious extremism and ethnic tensions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was formally established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Focus on Regional Security<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike most global organisations, the SCO focuses on security cooperation among Asian nations. It addresses challenges like terrorism, separatism, and extremism.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>RATS \u2013 The Security Arm<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SCO\u2019s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is its key security mechanism.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It facilitates intelligence sharing and coordination among member states through regular meetings and exchanges.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India Refuses to Sign SCO Draft Statement<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the 2025 SCO Defence Ministers\u2019 meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh refused to sign the joint statement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was after the joint statement excluded any mention of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but included a reference to the Jaffar Express hijacking in Balochistan<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s Objection: Terrorism Omitted<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to MEA, India had pushed to include references to terrorism, particularly Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam attack, but \u201cone particular country\u201d objected\u2014a veiled reference to Pakistan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As consensus was required, the statement was not adopted.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India Highlights Pahalgam Attack and Operation Sindoor<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his speech, Indian Defence Minister strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, where victims were targeted based on religious identity.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He named The Resistance Front, a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as responsible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He described India\u2019s retaliatory Operation Sindoor as a demonstration of its zero tolerance for terrorism.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>No Tolerance for Double Standards<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India asserted that peace cannot coexist with terrorism or WMD proliferation. It called for:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decisive global action against terror sponsors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consequences for countries enabling cross-border terrorism<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An end to SCO\u2019s silence on state-sponsored terror<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Refusal to Sign SCO Draft Statement \u2013 Analysis<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SCO, traditionally dominated by Russia and China, now sees <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">China playing a more dominant role due to Russia\u2019s preoccupation with the Ukraine war<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>China-Pakistan Nexus at Play<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">China, a staunch ally of Pakistan, has extended military and diplomatic support to Islamabad following India\u2019s Operation Sindoor.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has consistently shielded Pakistan in global forums from criticism over terrorism.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>India\u2019s Refusal \u2013 A Strategic Signal<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rajnath Singh\u2019s refusal to sign the SCO draft document, which ignored the Pahalgam terror attack but mentioned the Balochistan train hijacking, sent a strong diplomatic message.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, no joint statement was issued at this year\u2019s meeting.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Reaffirming India\u2019s Stance on Terrorism<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India reiterated its &#8220;no compromise on terrorism&#8221; doctrine.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian Minister\u2019s action reflects New Delhi\u2019s consistent position that terrorism and normal diplomatic engagement cannot coexist.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>What Lies Ahead<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All eyes are now on the upcoming SCO Council of Heads of State meeting in Tianjin this autumn.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s stance may influence future regional discourse on terrorism and security cooperation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/everyday-explainers\/rajnath-refuses-to-sign-sco-statement-significance-explained-10090709\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0|<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/news\/us-news\/congo-rwanda-sign-us-backed-peace-deal-to-end-years-of-war-11751069070314.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LM<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0| <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/india-refuses-to-sign-joint-statement-in-sco-summit\/article69739189.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India declined to endorse the SCO declaration as terrorism references were excluded, reinforcing its zero-tolerance stance on terrorism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":52227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1104,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-52205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-india-sco-statement-2025","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}