SCO outshines NATO in valuing cooperation

Although the not-so indirect confrontation between Russia and Western powers over the Ukraine crisis is unlikely to trigger a "new cold war" because today most countries' national interests are intertwined, it could break the geopolitical balance in Eurasia. Also, Ukraine may be geographically unrelated to the SCO, but it is a member of the Commonwealth of the Independent States which also has its members as Russia and some Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, whose diplomatic policies can directly affect the development of the SCO.

Despite Russia attaching greater importance to cooperation with China and Central Asian countries after the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, the SCO will neither intervene in the internal affairs of Ukraine, nor side with Moscow against the West. Instead, the SCO prefers to help resolve the Ukraine issue through diplomatic and political channels, and prevent the crisis from having "spillover effects" on Ukraine's neighbors.

Another distinctive SCO feature is that its security cooperation is not targeted at any third party. Being one of the first regional organizations against transnational terrorism, the SCO established a permanent anti-terrorism base in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2004 to fight the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism, as well as cross-border crimes like drug trafficking. Equally importantly, the SCO-led joint anti-terrorist exercises, though frequent, are not aimed at an imaginary enemy; their purpose is to strengthen mutual trust among member states' militaries and crush the "three evil forces".

Also, the SCO values cooperation in non-traditional security fields, including environmental protection, food, epidemic prevention and cybersecurity, for which it has set up different coordination mechanisms.

The SCO is succeeding in its mission because it is committed to building a community of shared interests and destiny based on cooperation, rather than simply becoming a regional grouping. And the purpose of this cooperative mode is to create a "win-win" situation without ignoring the differences in cultures and national conditions of the member states.

The author is secretary general of the SCO Research Center, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.