Strengthening Shanghai Cooperation Organisation through One Belt One Road

How One Belt One Road can strengthen the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Think Tank Meeting 26-27 September 2016 Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Beijing China The opinions expressed in this presentation are solely those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect those of the LKI. Barana Waidyatilake Research Fellow barana@lki.lk

Outline of the Presentation The Original Goal of the SCO The SCO s Challenge: New Members, New Needs OBOR: The Common Thread that Binds A Historical Example: The Marshall Plan and NATO Conclusion 3/19/2025 2

The Original Goal of the SCO The goal of any security organisation is to protect assets within a given geographical area. Assets can be defined as tangible or intangible objects that are seen as useful or valuable by the stakeholders in the organisation. From its inception in 2001, the SCO s primary goal has been to protect assets in Central Asia. The SCO has largely succeeded in this goal, since Central Asia is territorially shared between the SCO member states. 3/19/2025 3

The SCOs Challenge: New Members, New Needs The SCO s new members, India and Pakistan, may not necessarily share the organisation s preeminent focus on Central Asian security. Both India and Pakistan have an interest in the security of assets in the Indian Ocean region. If the SCO can add the protection of Indian Ocean region assets to its goals, this will strengthen the commitment of its new members. However, the continued success of the SCO also depends on its old members buying into the protection of Indian Ocean region assets. This can be achieved by an economic programme that develops interconnectivity among the assets in Central Asia and the Indian Ocean region. 3/19/2025 4

OBOR: The Common Thread that Binds The One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative proposes major investments in transport and communications infrastructure, as well as the energy sector, for both Central Asia and the Indian Ocean region. Therefore, it is a common economic programme that binds the assets of these regions together in an interdependent relationship. Interdependence gives rise to a need for collective security arrangements, providing an opportunity for the SCO to strengthen itself. OBOR also opens up new avenues for security cooperation, to protect OBOR assets, and to advance dialogue on a security architecture for the Indian Ocean region. 3/19/2025 5

A Historical Example: The Marshall Plan and NATO The Marshall Plan provided post-WWII Western European nations with funds to rebuild their economies. It was a common economic programme that bound the assets of Western European nations together, necessitating a collective security arrangement. This need was fulfilled by the newly-formed North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Unlike the Marshall Plan and NATO, OBOR and the SCO are not directed against any state. However, the possible OBOR-SCO synergy should be directed against newer security threats: the three evils of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism. 3/19/2025 6

Conclusion The expansion of SCO membership to India and Pakistan creates a need to make Indian Ocean region assets relevant to Central Asia, and vice versa. This can only be achieved through a common economic programme that develops interdependency between these regions. Such a programme is forthcoming in the OBOR initiative. The SCO can capitalise on the interdependency OBOR seeks to build between Central Asia and the Indian Ocean region. The Marshall Plan NATO example shows that such integration between OBOR and the SCO is indeed possible. 3/19/2025 7

Thank You! 3/19/2025 8