Shanghai Cooperation Organization

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organization which was founded on June 14, 2001 by leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, the People's Republic of China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organization.

This organization was founded originally as the Shanghai Five in 1996. Most observers believe that one of the original purposes of the SCO was to serve as a counterbalance to the United States and in particular to avoid conflicts that would allow the United States to intervene in areas near both Russia and China. Many observers also believe that the organization was formed as a direct response to the threat of missile defense systems by the United States, after the United States reversed course in its nuclear policy and began promoting a "missile defense" system that will enable the United States to actually wage what former President of the United States Ronald Reagan liked to call "Limited Nuclear War."

The SCO is centered around its member nations' Central Asian concerns. Early goals of this organization were mostly security-related issues, included solving border conflicts and avoiding military conflicts. Later on, the war against militant Islamism and terrorism started to play an important role.

Russia and China's conflicting interests have limited the groups' ability to act in a coordinated manner. Immediately after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, the SCO was unable to develop a coordinated policy against terrorism and was also unable to deal as a collective body with the United States. The United States was able to significantly increase its influence by offering aid and convincing many of its Central Asian members to allow the United States to use their territory as military bases. Starting in 2003, there was a joint anti-terrorism center built in Shanghai, China. The effort to expand the SCO to include economic issues, courts, and joint military exercises culminated in 100 specific actions that were resolved on September 23 2004. The SCO has floated ideas for forming a free trade area that will eventually share all resources from foodstuffs to military science.

External link

• People's Republic of China Ministry of Foreign Affairs page on the SCO (http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/topics/sco/t57970.htm)
• Harvard Asia Quarterly article: Power Politics in Central Asia - The Future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~asiactr/haq/200204/0204a003.htm)

zh-tw:上海合作组织

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