Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Genesis, aims and objectives of the new security and economic structure in (Central) Asia (I)

Abstract

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), founded in 2001 in Shanghai, with PR China, The Russian Federation, The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, The Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan as members, and India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers, is new, but very important security and economic organizational frame in Central and East Asia. During the last six years of its existence the Organization grew stronger, as well as the development of relations among the member states in numerous fields - from border demarcation issues and common border surveillance, common response to traditional and non-traditional security threats, to political cooperation, co-op in culture, education, trade agriculture, transportation, transport infrastructure, investment especially in the field of exploration, exploitation and transit of oil and gas. With the growing influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a successful framework for the confidence building in the region, development of various ways of cooperation, firstly economic and security ones, but on the principles of the equal footing and respect for differences among cultures and models and paths of development of its members, influence and respect for the Organization has been growing in the region and globally. Since the strong presence of the USA and NATO in the region, especially since the invasion of Afghanistan, the role of the SCO has significantly changed and been challenged. So far, it has found the way to respond through deepening its cooperation and building its institutional base. Nonetheless due to the exceptional geopolitical sensitivity of the region, numerous inherited and existing contradictions, the Organization, beyond its huge economic perspective, especially in the fields of energy, traffic infrastructure and trade, has to count on serous limitations and challenges in its future. On the other hand, it has already become security, political and economic factor in the region, counted on by all the other regional and global geopolitical players.

Šangajska organizacija za saradnju (ŠOS), osnovana 2001. godine u Šangaju čije su članice NR Kina, Rusija, Kazahstan, Kirgistan, Tadžikistan i Uzbekistan, a posmatrači: Iran, Indija, Mongolija i Pakistan, nov je, ali i izuzetno značajan bezbednosno-ekonomski oblik organizovanja u centralnoj i istočnoj Aziji. Tokom šest godina postojanja došlo je do jačanja Organizacije, kao i razvoja odnosa između svih članica u brojnim oblastima - od utvrđivanja međudržavnih razgraničenja i zajedničkog nadgledanja granice zajedničkog odgovora na tradicionalne i netradicionalne bezbednosne pretnje političke saradnje, saradnje u oblasti kulture, obrazovanja, do trgovine poljoprivrede, transporta, transportne infrastrukture, investicija, a naročito u oblasti istraživanja, eksploatacije i prenosa nafte i gasa. S rastom uticaja Šangajske organizacija za saradnju kao uspešnog okvira za izgradnju poverenja u regionu, razvijanje brojnih vidova saradnje, a najpre ekonomske i bezbednosne, na principima ravnopravnosti i uvažavanja različitosti kultura i modela i puteva razvoja članica, rastao je i njen ugled u regionu i globalno. Od snažnog prisustva SAD i NATO u regionu naročito od invazije na Avganistan, uloga ŠOS je doživela značajan preobražaj, ali i jedan od najvećih izazova, na koji je, zasad, našla načina da odgovori kroz produbljivanje saradnje i izgradnju institucionalnog okvira. Ipak, s obzirom na izuzetnu geopolitičku osetljivost regiona, brojne nasleđene i postojeće protivrečnosti, Organizacija, pored izuzetne ekonomske perspektive, naročito u oblasti energenata, saobraćajne infrastrukture i trgovine, u svom budućem razvoju mora da računa i s ozbiljnim ograničenjima i izazovima. S druge strane, ona je već postala bezbednosni, politički i ekonomski faktor u regionu, na koji svaki od prisutnih aktera regionalnih ali i globalnih geopolitičkih dešavanja računa.