By Antonio Graceffo
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is expanding by absorbing pariah states, such as Iran, Burma (also known as Myanmar), and Belarus, while increasing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) military and economic reach around the globe.
In early May, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait became official dialogue partners of the SCO, enhancing the CCP’s influence in those oil-rich nations. At the same time, Burma also became a dialogue partner, while Belarus aims for full membership in the future. The organization already includes China, Russia, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, while Afghanistan and Iran are dialogue partners. Most of these countries are authoritarian states guilty of human rights abuses.
Russia is engaged in an active war in Ukraine, for which it has been condemned by most of the Western world. Iran is heavily sanctioned for threatening regional security with its nuclear ambitions. Afghanistan’s Taliban, not formally recognized by any nation, is being legitimized by the CCP. And the Tatmadaw, the military junta that rules Burma, has been fighting a brutal civil war against ethnic minorities and other civilians since seizing power from democratically-elected Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. It is as if the CCP is collecting all of the countries rejected by the democratic international order and assembling them into an axis against the West.
According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the SCO serves to project China’s diplomatic and state power beyond its borders, while also creating buffer states to insulate China from the West. As a political and security union, the SCO’s joint military exercises, like those scheduled to be held in Russia this coming August, allow the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to train in foreign countries. These drills allow the PLA to practice air-ground combat operations and long-distance mobilization.
On the diplomatic front, Beijing cultivates relations with cooperative countries, establishing support bases overseas, such as in Central Asia. The PLA now has a military outpost in Tajikistan, conducting counterterrorism patrols in the border area between China, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. As more countries are persuaded to join, Beijing hopes to replicate and expand these diplomatic and military engagements. By courting far-off countries, the CCP will be able to build a global military power network.
Among the new SCO dialogue partners is Maldives. It does not fit the model of pariah states like Burma and Iran, but it is crucial to the CCP’s military ambitions. To displace the United States as the world’s preeminent military power, Beijing needs to establish overseas bases. Particularly important is the Indian Ocean, through which much of China’s oil and gas are shipped. Burma has already allowed the PLA to establish a listening post in the Bay of Bengal, while the PLA Navy has established a presence in Sri Lanka. The CCP has also announced plans to intensify military cooperation with SCO member Pakistan. Adding Maldives to the CCP web would strengthen Beijing’s position along oil transportation routes.
The BRICS grouping—composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—is also poised to expand, as Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, and the UAE have recently expressed interest in joining. The addition of these oil-producing nations is a huge win for Beijing, as China is now the world’s largest purchaser of oil.
The Middle East, despite the many conflicts the United States has fought there, has generally been an area where Washington had a great deal of influence, with oil priced in U.S. dollars and many local currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar. Beijing’s dream of seeing oil priced in yuan will not happen soon, if ever. But these expansions of the SCO and BRICS improve the CCP’s global position, threatening U.S. hegemony.
A bit of a contradiction is that New Delhi continues participating in both BRICS and the SCO, despite the threat China and Pakistan pose to India’s national security. India is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), commonly known as the Quad, along with Australia, Japan, and the United States. Where NATO was effectively created to counter the expansion of Russia in Europe, the Quad is intended to contain China in Asia. Due to SCO security agreements, members may be expected to share intelligence. At some point, conflicts of interest may force India to decide which side it wants to be on.
In the meantime, the SCO and BRICS are growing and the CCP is extending its reach, threatening the U.S. position.
This article originally appeared in the Epoch Times on 5/11/2023
