The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) marked its 25th anniversary in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, with all the trappings a diplomatic milestone demands.

There were 21 heads of state and government present for a ceremonial “family photo” and two-page Bishkek Declaration on September 1. A further 28 agreements included “strengthening multilateral partnership in nuclear safety and nuclear security”.

On the face of it, the SCO appeared to be a confident bloc speaking with one voice for roughly a quarter of humanity, while representing between 23% and 25% of global GDP.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries:

The real picture, however, is far less flattering. A quarter of a century in, it remains primarily a forum for multiple parallel bilateral engagements and deals between leaders. So far, so functional.

What the SCO has never become in 25 years is a body able to adjudicate the disputes its members bring to the room – still less, the ones they wage outside.

At its best, the SCO has been something narrower: a vehicle for bilateralism which lets its most powerful members strike deals and settle scores. As they often do this in very public ways, the messages they send more often than not are for domestic consumption, to present themselves as staunch defenders of strategic national interests.

Take the plenary address by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. With Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif at the same........

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