China's attempt to increase its influence in Asia suffered a setback today after India refused to sign the joint statement of the Beijing-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BTA reports.
The reason - according to New Delhi, the document has a pro-Pakistani tone and does not include key Indian concerns, the Associated Press reported.
According to Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, the statement does not adequately reflect India's position on issues such as terrorism and regional security. A source familiar with the matter said Delhi had insisted on including the April 22 terror attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists. India has blamed Pakistan for the attack, which Islamabad has strongly denied.
Singh believes that the omission of the incident, while including militants in Balochistan, has played into Pakistan's hands. Pakistan has regularly accused India of supporting Baloch separatists, allegations that India denies.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said India had insisted that terrorism be explicitly mentioned in the text, but that this was “unacceptable to one particular country“, and therefore the statement was not adopted.
“The SCO meeting has ended and I understand that no agreement was reached on a joint document“, Jaiswal added during his regular briefing.
The signing ceremony took place during a meeting of the defense ministers of the SCO countries - an organization created by China and Russia to balance US influence in the region. In recent years, China has taken a leading role in the group's governance, while Russia has been engaged in the war in Ukraine and is internationally isolated.
Although little known outside Asia, the SCO has emerged as an important tool for expanding Chinese political and economic influence - both in traditionally neutral countries such as India and in countries closely linked to Moscow, such as those in Central Asia.
The meeting took place in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao - the headquarters of China's Northern Fleet.