WORLD THIS WEEK

SCO Summit 2022: Who said what

On 15 and 16 September in Uzbekistan, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation met in two years to discuss bilateral cooperation and strengthening mutual confidence. The Summit was attended by India, Russia and China, along with seven other members. The summit welcomed Iran as a permanent member.

Promising peace and security, the SCO primarily focused on mutual trust in the military sphere when it first came into existence through the Shanghai Five, a political association when the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, were a part of the Agreement on Confidence- Building in the Military Field in the Border Area (Shanghai, 1996) and the Agreement on the Mutual Reduction of Armed Forces in the Border Area (Moscow, 1997). The accession of Uzbekistan in 2001 led to the renaming and establishment of the Shanghai Five as the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO). The Charter was signed at the St. Petersburg Summit in June 2002, stipulating the SCO's primary cooperation and shared objectives.

Under a similar purview, the heads of the SCO signed a 20-year programme of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation. Citing the programme to establish free trade zones & favourable commerce activities comprehensively. After 14 years, in another historic meeting of the SCO in Kazakhstan, India and Pakistan were granted permanent status as Heads of State Council which led to the holistic completion of the SCO.

China

The SCO marked one of the first meetings attended by President Xi Jinping after the outbreak of COVID-19. Urging the SCO members to strengthen practical cooperation among themselves, China said that it is ready to work with other stakeholders to elevate global development through the BRI. Pledging humanitarian assistance and cooperation documents in areas of trade and investment, infrastructure and supply chains, China consistently called out "colour revolutions" and urged the group to stay far from the West's perception of Asia. Xi warned against the "obsession with forming a small circle" and reiterated the importance of capitalising on multilateralism.

Russia

On the Ukraine war Russia maintained that it would only get worse if the opposition would not back down. Russia urged closer ties with China on the basis of the realisation of common goals and objectives as SCO member states. Russia also acknowledged the rotating presidency of India for next year's summit of 2023 and pushed free visa travel between India and Russia. It promised pipeline gas supplies to Pakistan, as well. Crediting Iran for its permanency in the SCO, Russia seemed to play the role of a supportive ally to the SCO while also upholding its stance on the Ukraine crisis.

India

Prime Minister Modi attended the summit with intentions set to achieve credible support for his energy security and transit rights agenda. He urged the members to set a balanced approach against climate change as well. Modi said to Putin that "it is not an era of war" and pushed Russia to delve into food, fuel and fertiliser security issues. Modi also underlined the transit trade and connectivity between the SCO member states, saying that transit rights between the states would boost communication and dialogue between the members.

India also held sideline talks with Iran to boost bilateral ties and connectivity, speaking about the Chabahar Port development and foreseeing potential maritime cooperation involving Oman, Iran and India. They also discussed the state of Afghanistan and prevented speculation of any bias.

Pakistan and Iran

Pakistan and Iran saw a separate progression of dialogue in this year's SCO Summit of 2022. Iran was granted permanent membership to the SCO by signing an MOU on 16 September. Pakistan pledged to remove regional terrorism from its land and focused on fighting climate change by asking for humanitarian aid and help from its member countries. Pakistan was hesitant to comment on its participation in next year's summit to be held in India.

ALSO IN NEWS

China: CEO of Boeing and Raytheon sanctioned over arms sale to Taiwan

On 16 September, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson maintained that China had announced sanctions on the CEOs of Boeing Defense and Raytheon over their involvement in Washington's latest arms sales to Taiwan. US State Department approved the sale of military equipment to Taiwan worth USD 1.1bn earlier this month, involving 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles. China in February sanctioned Raytheon and Lockheed Martin following the announced sale of USD 100m in upgrades to Patriot missiles for Taiwan. The announcement marks the first time Beijing identified and imposed sanctions against individuals from these companies.

China: State Council objects to "Taiwan Policy Act of 2022"

On 15 September, a Chinese spokesperson from the State Council Taiwan Affairs office, Zhu Fenglian expressed China's objection to the passing of the "Taiwan Policy Act of 2022" by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Zhu said: "The move breached the solemn commitment made by the US side, and was a flagrant provocation against China's sovereignty and territorial integrity." He further asked the US lawmakers to adhere to the one-China principle and stop its malicious activities in Taiwan.

Japan: Tokyo and Washington to work together to counter Chinese weapons

On 14 September, Japan's Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada met with the US Defence Minister Lloyd Austin to discuss joint technological research on countering hypersonic weapons. Japan and the US are concerned over the rise of China in the east. Russia and China are observed to be disrupting the rules-based world order. Japan is increasingly worried about its neighbour China's action in the South China sea following the exercise near Taiwan. The US and Japan agreed to bolster the defence system of Japan to deal with its neighbouring threat. The Japanese Defence Ministry asked the government to increase its funds to raise its counteroffensive capabilities during its budget request.

Afghanistan: US establishes 'Afghan Fund' with USD 3.5 billion of frozen assets

On 14 September, the United States created an "Afghan Fund" through the Departments of the Treasury and of State, cooperating with international partners including the government of Switzerland and Afghan economic experts to assist the Afghan people. A statement from the US Treasury department said: "Pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 14064, President Biden set a policy of enabling $3.5 billion of Afghan central bank reserves to be used for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan while keeping them out of the hands of the Taliban and other malign actors. The Afghan Fund will protect, preserve, and make targeted disbursements of that $3.5 billion to help provide greater stability to the Afghan economy." Meanwhile, the Taliban's Ministry of Economy has asked the US to move the frozen assets of Afghanistan to the Da Afghanistan Bank (Central Bank).

Ukraine: Mass burial site found in de-occupied Izyum

On 16 September, Ukraine's Defence Ministry said that torture chambers and a mass burial site with at least 440 graves had been found in the Izyum region. Izyum is the town that has recently been de-occupied by Ukraine as a part of their counteroffensive. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy compared it to Bucha, where during the initial stages of the invasion, war crimes had been recorded. He said that the bodies in the graves show signs of abuse like broken bones and ropes tied around their necks and blamed Russia for its "cruelty and terrorism."

Germany: Israeli anti-ballistic missile system on the cards over the US made THAAD

On 12 September, the Israeli Prime Minister revealed that Germany is in talks to buy the Arrow 3 missile defence system from Israel as part of Berlin's efforts to strengthen its armed forces after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Yair Lapid described their talks as leading to a "future possible deal" but declined to outline the cost. Scholz said Germany would strengthen its defences by buying more air defence systems in the future and called the Arrow 3 system a "highperformance offer" but declined to go into specifics. Arrow 3 interceptors are designed to fly beyond the earth's atmosphere, where their warheads detach to become "kamikaze" satellites or "kill vehicles" that track and slam into the targets. Such high-altitude shoot-downs are meant to safely destroy incoming nuclear, biological or chemical missiles.

The US: Lockheed Martin delivers its highest-powered laser to date to the US Department of Defense

On 16 September, as part of the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI), Lockheed Martin handed over a new tactical electric 300kW-class laser, a high-energy directed weapon. The company noted that the 300kW-class, high-energy laser development resulted from major investments in directed energy technology. Currently, US Army uses a 20-kW laser weapon, and Navy uses a 30-kW laser weapon. High-energy lasers engage at the speed of light and provide a solution to constantly evolving threats while reducing the logistics tail associated with conventional kinetic weapon systems.