The SCO should continue to implement its founding principles, based on security and
　　economic cooperation, rather than expanding its membership
　　
　　TEAMWORK TALKS: Representatives of SCO member countries and other countries in Asia and Europe discussed cooperation on energy, finance and tourism at the first Euro-Asia Economic Forum in China’s western city of Xi’an
　　In reinventing itself, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should stick to being a regional cooperative organization guided by a new concept and prioritizing security and economic cooperation. Meanwhile, brash expansion of the organization will cause a lot of problems.
　　The SCO foreign ministerial meeting was held in Shanghai on May 15, to be followed by the SCO summit in June. Since the organization came into being five years ago, it has played an increasingly important role in the international community. Nonetheless, the development of the SCO has faced many problems, the most outstanding of which is the lack of a systemic theoretical basis for its organizational development, particularly a clear definition of the organization’s nature, function and geographical dimension. This will adversely affect the internal stability and future development of the SCO.
　　The Shanghai Cooperation Organiza-tion is based on a new concept, which is condensed to the “Shanghai spirit” of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and the desire for common development. The new concept also embodies a new security concept that is the opposite of the Cold War mentality, featuring common security, non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting a third country.
　　Under this new model of state-to-state relations, all member countries should enjoy equality, mutual trust and mutual respect, and resolve problems through consultation. As a new model of regional cooperation, it upholds mutual benefit, common development and common prosperity, which is in contrast to the zero-sum game of the Cold War mentality.
　　The Shanghai spirit is of particular importance to Central Asia, a heterogeneous region with a mixture of cultures and religions. The initiation of the Shanghai spirit not only brings member countries together spiritually, but also helps to create a favorable environment for economic development. Building the SCO into a platform showcasing a new international relations concept is in line with China’s efforts to bill itself as a responsible power and conforms to China’s initiative to establish a fair international new order. China’s motivation in developing the SCO includes a friendly neighborhood, development and stability, rather than seeking regional hegemony.
　　In line with these general principles, the SCO should continue to be oriented toward security and economic cooperation.
　　
　　Security first
　　
　　FIGHTING TERROR: Joint antiterror military exercises were held under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization framework in 2003
　　First of all, member countries of the SCO are located in a region that features conflicts and fierce competition among various forces. Therefore, security is the pivotal factor for regime stability and economic development. Originating from a military security consultation scheme, the SCO has been emphasizing its function of promoting cooperation on security from the beginning. Judged from a practical perspective, the security function should be further strengthened.
　　The security cooperation at the current stage should focus on fighting the “three evil forces” of terrorism, separatism and extremism, on emergency reactions to major disasters, and on such non-conventional security areas as drug and arms trafficking.
　　The key to enhancing security cooperation is to properly deal with some member countries’ double identity in the SCO and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Another noteworthy point is that enhancing security cooperation does not mean reinventing the SCO as a military group, which might trigger a fresh round of confrontation for hegemony between the East and the West and ruin regional security.
　　Due to the economic backwardness of its member countries, economic development should be considered the essential mission of the SCO by all member countries. Strengthening economic cooperation should also be considered crucial in fending off foreign interference in stirring a “revolution.” In the field of economic cooperation, the areas of tapping oil and natural gas resources and expanding logistics channels should be prioritized.
　　The Caspian rim area is rich in oil and natural gas resources, and SCO member countries include important oil and natural gas producers Russia and Kazakhstan and important oil importer China. If SCO observers Iran and India are included in the cooperation chain, a whole energy entity will be formed for oil production, transportation and marketing.
　　To enhance the efficiency of the SCO and avoid its becoming the second Commonwealth of Independent States, member countries should boost their political mutual trust, unify their concepts and strengthen the cooperation scheme-building in all areas. Actions must be coordinated to deal a telling blow at the “three evil forces” of terrorism, separatism and extremism and appease the chaos caused by a “color revolution.”
　　As for the major international incidents in surrounding areas, such as the Iran nuclear crisis, the SCO is expected to form a unified stance and play an even more active role. In the June SCO summit, a stronger voice is expected to be heard on the Iran nuclear issue.
　　
　　No rush to expand
　　
　　The SCO members are located in an area of geopolitical strategic significance. While outside forces flock into this area, the organization’s network tune-up might require a long time. To guarantee the healthy development of this organization, the priority is not to enlarge the organization by absorbing new members but to stick to its guidelines as a regional organization. Meanwhile, various forms of cooperative partnerships could be established with countries beyond this region, like accepting neighboring countries as observers and granting distant countries dialogue country status at their request. However, formal members must be countries in this region.
　　The expansion of the SCO beyond its geographical limits will bring a wide range of problems. First, disagreements among member countries over absorbing new members would harm the unity and stability of the SCO. Second, external conflicts might in the process be translated into internal conflicts, weakening the coordination of the organization. Third, the expansion might set off an explosive reconfiguration of the international structure, drawing outcries from other major countries and international organizations.
　　Even the expansion within the region must be approached prudently, and requirements for formal membership must be clarified. In this aspect, the experience of the European Union could be used in setting up admission standards and a transition period. While dealing with other partner countries like India and Pakistan, the SCO could create a dialogue mechanism similar to the 10 plus one dialogue mechanism between China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
　　For the time being, the request of distant countries outside the region to be observers should be refused to avoid a possible adverse impact on the normal operation of the SCO. Instead, a dialogue mechanism could be suggested to these countries in order to increase the organization’s transparency and ease the misgivings of certain nations.
　　The author is a senior consultant of the Center for Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

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