My prediction: SCO will become a military alliance within 10 years

[Martian2]

SCO looks like a military alliance. Let's apply the "duck test."

In the United States, there is a "duck test."

"The duck test – 'If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck' – suggests that a person can identify an unknown subject by observing that subject's habitual characteristics."

SCO claims to be an economic club. Let's see if SCO quacks like other economic ducks.

Examples of economic clubs: WTO, APEC, and NAFTA

Have you ever seen a military exercise by the WTO, APEC, or NAFTA? The obvious answer is "no." Thus, real economic clubs do not hold military exercises.

Have you seen a military exercise by NATO, which is a military alliance? The obvious answer is "yes."

Let's see what SCO has been up to.

Here are SCO soldiers raising their country flags and marching troops.

Asian Defence News: Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States start Peace Mission 2014 joint exercises

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SCO Troops in Final Stage of Peace Mission 2014 Exercise

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Highlights of Peace Mission 2014 joint military drill - People's Daily Online

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China Defense Blog: The start of the Peace Mission 2013 "anti-terror drills"

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What do you think?

Does SCO resemble the WTO, APEC, and NAFTA?

Or does SCO resemble NATO?

 

[TaiShang]

SCO looks like a military alliance. Let's apply the "duck test."

In the United States, there is a "duck test."

"The duck test – 'If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck' – suggests that a person can identify an unknown subject by observing that subject's habitual characteristics."

SCO claims to be an economic club. Let's see if SCO quacks like other economic ducks.

Examples of economic clubs: WTO, APEC, and NAFTA

Have you ever seen a military exercise by the WTO, APEC, or NAFTA? The obvious answer is "no." Thus, real economic clubs do not hold military exercises.

Have you seen a military exercise by NATO, which is a military alliance? The obvious answer is "yes."

Let's see what SCO has been up to.

Here are SCO soldiers raising their country flags and marching troops.

Asian Defence News: Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States start Peace Mission 2014 joint exercises

----------

SCO Troops in Final Stage of Peace Mission 2014 Exercise

----------

Highlights of Peace Mission 2014 joint military drill - People's Daily Online

----------

China Defense Blog: The start of the Peace Mission 2013 "anti-terror drills"

----------

What do you think?

Does SCO resemble the WTO, APEC, and NAFTA?

Or does SCO resemble NATO?

It resembles a security alliance with inclination towards being a full-fledged military alliance, in my opinion. The economics-development aspect is only as much as they are related to security.

This is the very founding document of the SCO.

< The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Peoples' Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tadjikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties"),

guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations concerning primarily the maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion of friendly relations and cooperation among States;

aware of the fact that terrorism, separatism and extremism constitute a threat to international peace and security, the promotion of friendly relations among States as well as to the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms;

recognizing that these phenomena seriously threaten territorial integrity and security of the Parties as well as their political, economic and social stability;

guided by the principles of the Almaty Joint Statement of 3 July 1998, the Bishkek Declaration of 25 August 1999, the Dushanbe Declaration of 5 July 2000 and the Declaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of 15 June 2001;

firmly believing that terrorism, separatism and extremism, as defined in this Convention, regardless their motives, cannot be justified under any circumstances, and that the perpetrators of such acts should be prosecuted under the law;

believing that joint efforts by the Parties within the framework of this Convention are an effective form of combating terrorism, separatism and extremism,

have agreed as follows:


Article 1

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the terms used in it shall have the following meaning:

1) "terrorism" means:

a) any act recognized as an offence in one of the treaties listed in the Annex to this Convention (hereinafter referred to as "the Annex") and as defined in this Treaty;

b) any other act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict or to cause major damage to any material facility, as well as to organize, plan, aid and abet such act, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, violate public security or to compel public authorities or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act, and prosecuted in accordance with the national laws of the Parties;

2) "separatism" means any act intended to violate territorial integrity of a State including by annexation of any part of its territory or to disintegrate a State, committed in a violent manner, as well as planning and preparing, and abetting such act, and subject to criminal prosecuting in accordance with the national laws of the Parties;

3) "Extremism" is an act aimed at seizing or keeping power through the use of violence or changing violently the constitutional regime of a State, as well as a violent encroachment upon public security, including organization, for the above purposes, of illegal armed formations and participation in them, criminally prosecuted in conformity with the national laws of the Parties.》

Obviously it is security-oriented from the very beginning. Like @Martian2 empirically verified, economic groupings do not hold regular anti-terrorism exercises. Therefore, I agree with Martian on the prediction that, turning the SCO into a full-fledged military alliance is only a matter of time.