Qingdao (China): In a firm stand against efforts to dilute India’s concerns about terrorism, defence minister Rajnath Singh refused to sign a joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting on Thursday.
This refusal forced the SCO to back out from issuing any joint statement.
The meeting was held in Qingdao, China. The joint statement, issued after the deliberations, skipped any mention of the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack but made direct reference to the goings-on in Balochistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of backing the Balochistan freedom movement. These are allegations that India has categorically denied.
The agenda focused on regional peace and security, counter-terrorism cooperation, and enhancing military collaboration among member states. During the meeting, Singh explicitly condemned the use of terrorism as a state policy tool, a veiled but clear reference to Pakistan. He highlighted recent terror incidents such as the Pahalgam attack, which bore the hallmark of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terror group.
Defence ministers of all ten member states of the SCO, including India, China, Russia and Pakistan, were present at the Summit.
In his speech, the Indian defence minister had called for collective action against those who sponsor, nurture, and use terrorism for narrow political ends.
“Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations,” Singh had said.
“Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever and by whom-so-ever committed. SCO members must condemn this evil unequivocally. We reiterate the need to hold the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, accountable and bring them to justice,” he had further stated.
This decision by India is consistent with its previous independent stances in multilateral forums, where it resisted attempts to align fully with China’s agenda.
At the SCO Summit in 2023, India had declined to endorse paragraphs supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It had also opposed China’s proposed Brics currency basket plan.
During his visit to China, Singh met his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun. The meeting was aimed at improving military communication channels, including the possible restart of the India-China military hotline. This was the defence minister’s first visit to China since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.
