India’s approach in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation shows that regional economic cooperation cannot be separated from a stable security environment. Discuss.

The SCO combines security, economic and cultural objectives, but divergent threat perceptions can limit its ability to deliver meaningful connectivity and development.

• India has argued that terrorism must be addressed at its source and that member-states should dismantle its ecosystem rather than apply selective standards. • Cross-border terrorism erodes trust, raises transaction costs and makes transport corridors vulnerable. • Security cooperation therefore includes intelligence sharing, denial of terrorist finance, border management and consistent condemnation of terror networks.

• SCO members have different strategic priorities and often disagree over terrorism, sovereignty and regional influence. • Consensus-oriented multilateralism can produce lowest-common-denominator statements. • India’s refusal to endorse a statement that did not reflect its concerns illustrates the tension between institutional unity and principled diplomacy. • The organisation must avoid becoming only a forum for strategic rivalry.

• Corridors, energy routes and digital links require predictable borders, safe transport and investor confidence. • Cooperation in trade, culture and development should continue even while security disputes are managed; postponing every economic initiative would impose costs on citizens. • However, connectivity projects need risk assessments, transparency, debt sustainability and protection against coercive dependence.

• Establish verifiable counter-terror commitments and a common vocabulary for terrorism. • Use issue-based coalitions for trade, health, disaster relief and connectivity where consensus is possible. • Improve information sharing, crisis communication and protection of critical infrastructure. • India should combine principled security diplomacy with practical economic engagement, preserving strategic autonomy.

SCO; regional security; cross-border terrorism; connectivity; strategic autonomy; consensus; economic integration