By Shannon Tiezzi
Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for the SCO to take more responsibility in guaranteeing regional security.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to take a larger role in guaranteeing regional security and stability during a meeting of SCO foreign ministers held in Moscow. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is made up of China, Russia, and the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and is committed to fighting the “three evils”: terrorism, extremism, and separatism.
As Moritz Rudolf, Marc Julienne, and Johannes Buckow of MERICS pointed out in a recent piece for The Diplomat, the SCO is central to China’s international efforts to fight terrorism. In practice, however, the impact of the SCO has been limited to joint military drills and some intelligence sharing under the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS). Still, China has ambitions for the grouping, which also has important implications for the success of China’s Silk Road Economic Belt. Ensuring security along the planned route will be crucial to reaching the full potential of a trade network stretching through restive regions in Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East.
Read the full story at The Diplomat