India trashing the joint statement drafted at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) exposes the tragedy of the China-dominated bloc — a forum meant to fight terrorism, now compromised by China and its terror-breeding ally Pakistan. This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg– as much more is simmering between India and China right now– from Xi Jinping skipping the BRICS Summit, Chinese economic sabotage, Beijing’s backing of Pakistan’s military against India, and tense negotiations on the new rules of engagement are unfolding behind the scenes. This is less about restoration of ties, and more about redirection.

As Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flipped through the pages, he put down his pen and refused to sign, resulting in the absence of a joint statement from the SCO. This move shreds China’s cover for Pakistan’s terror-sponsoring regime as China seeks to corner India diplomatically, economically and militarily— all at once. The proposed joint statement gave it all away — it made direct references to incidents in Balochistan but skipped the Pahalgam terror attack— a brazen attempt to cover up Pakistan’s hand in terror.

The SCO was started to address the security concerns of the region, founded by China, Russia, and four Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India joined in 2017, and today the organisation has 10 members, including Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus. Its anti-terror committee, RATS, is headquartered in Uzbekistan, while its secretariat operates from Beijing.

While the SCO is largely meant to focus on terrorism, separatism and extremism, in recent years, it has become a vehicle for China to play out its larger geopolitical agenda against the West, extend its influence with Russia and other post-soviet members, and shield Pakistan from global scrutiny— especially by suppressing references to Pakistani terrorism.

India’s defence........

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