Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday delivered a harsh message to China and Pakistan while virtually addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. In his speech, PM Modi said that all member nations should respect each other’s’ territorial integrity.
“India has strong cultural and historical ties with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries...India believes that to enhance connectivity it is important that we move forward while respecting one another's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his speech.
This was the first occasion where PM Modi had come face-to-face, albeit virtually, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan PM Imran Khan since the border standoff between India and China began in eastern Ladakh in early May.
During his nine-minute speech, the prime minister further emphasized India’s strong opposition against terrorism and drug smuggling. “India strongly believes in peace, security and prosperity, and we have always voiced opposition to terrorism, illegal arms smuggling, drugs and money laundering. India has remained firm in its commitment to work under the SCO as per the principles laid down in the SCO Charter,” he said.
Calling for a “reformed multilateralism” that reflects today’s global realities, the PM suggested that countries also discuss topics such as “expectations of all stakeholders, contemporary challenges, and human welfare”.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, on the other hand, called for the implementation of UN resolutions to resolve outstanding issues and create an environment for peace and stability. “Unilateral and illegal measures to change the status of disputed territories in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions runs counter to the objective (of the UN) and adversely affects the regional environment,” he said without naming any country.
In response to the address of the Pakistani premier, in which he raised the issue of Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “However, it is unfortunate that repeated attempts are being made to unnecessarily bring bilateral issues to the SCO agenda, which violate the SCO Charter and Shanghai Spirit. Such efforts are contrary to the spirit of consensus and cooperation that defines SCO.”
Ever since India became a full member of the SCO Council of Heads and State in 2017, PM Modi has been leading the Indian delegation to the annual summit. However, this is the first time that the annual meeting was held virtually due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. India is also set to host the virtual meeting of the SCO Heads of the Government on November 30 in which Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to take part.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered the keynote speech which emphasized that SCO member countries should adhere to multilateralism amid the COVID-19 pandemic, shedding light on the joint efforts needed to safeguard the international order, suggesting that China will actively consider the COVID-19 vaccine needs of SCO member countries. Russian leader Vladimir Putin welcomed Xi’s statement on the need to avoid politicizing the COVID-19 epidemic situation during the meeting.
The meeting was attended by state leaders of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with Russian premier Vladimir Putin acting as chair. The grouping’s four Observer States – Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia – were also represented at the meet. Since India joined the SCO in 2017, PM Modi has attended every heads of state summit.
The SCO meeting of the members’ National Security Advisors (NSA) was at the centre of a controversy in September, when Indian NSA Ajit Doval walked out after his Pakistani counterpart displayed the country’s “new” map depicting Indian territory as its own. According to Anurag Srivastava, the Pakistani NSA “deliberately projected a fictitious map that Pakistan has recently been propagating”, further adding that Pakistan proceeded to, expectedly, “present a misleading view of this meeting.”