SCO summit: PM Modi hits out at Pakistan, China, says ‘respect each other's territorial integrity’

In a stern message to Pakistan and China during Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) annual meet on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it is important that the member countries respect one another's "sovereignty and territorial integrity", reports senior correspondent Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday delivered a strict message to China and Pakistan while addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. In his speech, delivered via video conferencing, PM Modi said that all member nations should respect each others' territorial integrity.

"Unfortunately, there are unnecessary attempts to bring bilateral issues in the SCO agenda, which violates SCO Charter and Shanghai spirit," the prime minister said.

“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.

He said that there is an attempt to time and again rake bilateral issues which are against the values and fundamentals of the SCO forum.

A foreign policy expert said that PM Modi was aiming his message to both China, Pakistan and tried to make it very clear that India’s engagement with the SCO is contingent in some ways on this basic principle that India does not talk about bilateral matters. Respecting territorial integrity remains a very important cornerstone of India’s foreign policy priority.

“SCO gives India access to Central Asia which is certainly very important given Afghanistan, other factors and managing terrorism etc but it also challenges Indian diplomacy. Now that Russians are so deeply embedded with the Chinese, it becomes important for India to review whether Russians can play the role of an honest broker as India expects it to. I think that will also be an important consideration going forward”, Observer Research Foundation’s Director Prof Harsh Pant told ETV Bharat.

“As of now, Russia has been unequivocal in supporting India during the border crisis with China. But Russia has also made a statement to the effect that there is a possibility of Sino-Russian military alliance going forward so India will have to waive off these options as it reviews its engagement with the SCO in the future”, Pant added.

Modi in the SCO summit also pointed out that India has remained firm in its commitment to work under the SCO as per the principles laid down in the charter. However, highlighting that this is a very difficult time of the unprecedented epidemic, Modi said that India's pharma industry has sent essential medicines to more than 150 countries.

As the world's largest vaccine producing country, India will use its vaccine production and distribution capacity to help the whole humanity in fighting this crisis, the Prime Minister reiterated. He further underlined that India strongly believes in peace, prosperity and security and have always raised voice against terrorism, illegal arms smuggling, drugs and money laundering.

This was the first occasion where PM Modi had come face-to-face, although virtually, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, since the border standoff between India and China began in eastern Ladakh in early May.

Held under the chairmanship of Russia, the SCO summit was attended by all member states including Pakistan, China. Major leaders who attended the SCO meet are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and leaders of four Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The annual summit of SCO Council of heads of state deals with all the key areas of the activities of the powerful bloc including political, security, trade, economic and cultural.

According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry earlier, the summit is expected to focus on countering the spread of terrorism including the use of the internet for spreading radicalization, as also issues relating to trade and economic activities.

Prime Minister Modi has led the Indian delegation at the annual SCO summit since India became a full member in 2017.

According to sources, the summit will culminate with the release of a Moscow declaration which will reflect the broad agenda of the bloc for the next one year, sources said.

India also participated in two in-person meetings of the SCO defence ministers and council of foreign ministers in Moscow in September this year.