Astana: The annual conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been organized in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to attend this conference, but at the last moment he was represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Actually, India suspected that Chinese President Xi Jinping could use this platform to pursue his interests and promote the Belt and Road Initiative amid growing tensions with Western countries. This is what happened, on the SCO platform, there was a competition between China and Russia to expand their influence.

India gave a message to China by not going to SCO

The Central Asian Economic and Security Alliance, established by China and Russia in 2001, has more than 40 percent of the world’s population, and with the joining of Belarus this year, the number of its members will increase to 10. But, as Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to meet in a further sign of deeper cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided not to attend the meeting and sent his foreign minister S Jaishankar in his place. Modi’s absence is seen by some as an attempt to downplay the summit’s importance, even as India seeks to strike a delicate balance in its foreign policy.

India distancing itself from SCO

Zhang Baohui, a professor of international relations at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University who specializes in Asia-Pacific studies, said Modi’s absence made it clear that India was distancing itself from the SCO. India, which joined the group in 2017 along with rival Pakistan, hosted the annual summit virtually last year, a move interpreted by many as an attempt by India to avoid direct engagement with China and Russia, both of which have strained ties with the West.