Toronto Star's Russian stringer Michael Mainville rang a bell of warning on June 3, 2006, after the six members of the "Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO)" met in Moscow, two weeks prior to their SCO summit to take place on June 15 in Shanghai. Mainville quoted experts that the SCO after ten years is becoming a security and political bloc that could become a "key global player" with the clout to challenge NATO.
Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (the last three in effect owned by Russia) founded the group as the "Shanghai Five" in 1996 then added on Uzbekistan (owned by China) , renamed itself the SCO and was given a written charter in 2001.
Yevgeny Volk, director of the Moscow office of the conservative Heritage Foundation is quoted, "The Shanghai organization is trying to transform itself into a real political-security structure that can act as an alternative to current international organizations."
Last year the SCO member nations had joint military exercises involving 10,000 troops and plan to have more war games next year.
"They say they don't want to form a NATO of the east, but the question remains: Why conduct these military exercises under the auspices of the SCO if its not meant as a counterbalance to NATO?" asked David Wall, a
professor at Cambridge University's East Asia Institute.
The organization flexed their muscles during the SCO's 2005 summit meeting in the Kazakh capital of Astana when a call was made to remove US troops from central Asia. Uzbekistan immediately ordered the US troops out. Kyrgyzstan, however, still allows the US to remain.
At the recent Moscow meeting, the laying out of the agenda to the June summit included the expansion to allow the membership of more nations such as Iran. Russia and China have opposed UN sanctions on Iran. Iran has indicated its desire to join the SCO.
"An expanded SCO would control a large part of the world's oil and gas reserves and nuclear arsenal. It would essentially be an OPEC with bombs," said Wall.
Russia is money poor but strong in military technology and oil. China is money rich, very lacking in military technology and oil. The four "stans" have oil. The money for the SCO comes from the industrialized west, especially the US, which despite China and Russia's opposition to it keeps feeding it.
Canada is no different. Auto companies keep closing their plants in Canada yet open manufacturing operations in China. Soon a very inexpensive Chinese automobile will appear in Canada. The Desmarais family — which owns Power Corporation and many of Canada's past Prime Ministers (not current PM Stephen Harper, I don't believe) — has been point to Canada's betrayal.
We need to check where the products that we purchase are made, so we don't end up financing our own destruction.
Shanghai: former enemies with a common language (2)
Archived Articles | 09 Jun 2006 | Adu RaudkiviEWR
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Another issue of growing concern should be the widespread acceptance of real as well as expected economic development in autocratic regimes such as China and Russia. No longer does the USA or the EU seriously question the legitimacy of these countries as acceptable international partners, if they have proven their economic strength. Once proven, human rights rarely gets a look-in. Indeed, it has been suggested in some political think-tanks that China and Russia are in fact playing this trump card very effectively to their advantage at the moment, and could even set the new international ground rules for running the global economy in the 21st Century (see Sirp "Diplomaatia" May issue for further details).
A very interesting article, Adu!
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