Shardul.....the lion
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In a diplomatic triumph for India, Beijing recently wrote to New Delhi saying that it would like India to play a bigger role in SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), the six-nation body which holds the key to not just resource-rich central Asia but also the security situation in Afghanistan as the US drawdown starts to take effect.
The government is looking upon this development as China's support at least "in essence and in principle'' for India's bid to become a full member of the body, which is dominated by China and Russia, and play a more important role in the region.
Russia has in the past declared support for India's attempts to become full member but China's position has not been clear with Beijing even stating that SCO should not rush into expansion and insisted on developing a consensus for including more members.
"This means that in principle and fundamentally, India now has support from all six SCO members for full membership of the organization,'' said an official source, adding that it marked a further thaw in India-China relations after the two sides last month resumed defence exchanges. Apart from Russia and China, the four other full members of SCO are central Asian countries Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
India -- along with Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia -- has observer status in the organization. India and Pakistan have both applied to become full members of SCO which is also seen as an emerging counterweight to NATO in the region. Pakistan, which already claims support from China, recently seemed to have raced past India in the membership bid when even Russia expressed support for its candidature.
However, emboldened by this latest assurance from Beijing, Indian officials don't see China thwarting any healthy engagement between India and central Asia. They believe there is a new and more evolved thinking in the Chinese establishment which is looking for fresh partnerships in the region, including Afghanistan which applied recently for observer status in SCO. Indian officials also believe that SCO is going to be one of the most crucial forums to discuss the security situation post-2014 in Afghanistan and also for putting more pressure on Pakistan to check its terror-spewing jihadi groups.
China has successfully managed to reduce the trust deficit with central Asian countries and, unlike India, has managed to build a robust bilateral, economic engagement with these countries. The issue of SCO expansion gathered momentum after the organization passed a memorandum at the Almaty summit last month comprising membership obligations for observer countries willing to upgrade their status to that of a full member.
The government is looking upon this development as China's support at least "in essence and in principle'' for India's bid to become a full member of the body, which is dominated by China and Russia, and play a more important role in the region.
Russia has in the past declared support for India's attempts to become full member but China's position has not been clear with Beijing even stating that SCO should not rush into expansion and insisted on developing a consensus for including more members.
"This means that in principle and fundamentally, India now has support from all six SCO members for full membership of the organization,'' said an official source, adding that it marked a further thaw in India-China relations after the two sides last month resumed defence exchanges. Apart from Russia and China, the four other full members of SCO are central Asian countries Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
India -- along with Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia -- has observer status in the organization. India and Pakistan have both applied to become full members of SCO which is also seen as an emerging counterweight to NATO in the region. Pakistan, which already claims support from China, recently seemed to have raced past India in the membership bid when even Russia expressed support for its candidature.
However, emboldened by this latest assurance from Beijing, Indian officials don't see China thwarting any healthy engagement between India and central Asia. They believe there is a new and more evolved thinking in the Chinese establishment which is looking for fresh partnerships in the region, including Afghanistan which applied recently for observer status in SCO. Indian officials also believe that SCO is going to be one of the most crucial forums to discuss the security situation post-2014 in Afghanistan and also for putting more pressure on Pakistan to check its terror-spewing jihadi groups.
China has successfully managed to reduce the trust deficit with central Asian countries and, unlike India, has managed to build a robust bilateral, economic engagement with these countries. The issue of SCO expansion gathered momentum after the organization passed a memorandum at the Almaty summit last month comprising membership obligations for observer countries willing to upgrade their status to that of a full member.
