How does the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation serve India's interests in Eurasia despite the presence of rival member states?

Founded in 2001 and joined by India as a full member in 2017, the SCO is the only major Eurasian platform where India sits at the same table as both China and Pakistan. That shared table is less a constraint than an instrument: it gives India standing, voice and access in a landlocked region it cannot reach on its own terms.

Strategic access to the extended neighbourhood

• Provides institutionalised entry into Central Asia, bypassing India's lack of overland connectivity through Pakistan.
• The 26th Summit at Bishkek (31 August–1 September 2026), marking the SCO's 25th anniversary, was used by India to advance its vision of Security, Connectivity and Opportunity [1].
• Summit travel doubles as bilateral outreach — the PM's combined Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic visit deepened trade and connectivity ties alongside the multilateral agenda [3].

Security and counter-terrorism leverage

• The RATS mechanism offers intelligence-sharing on terrorism, extremism and narcotics — Bishkek adopted outcomes covering drug addiction and nuclear safety [1].
• Crucially, India uses the platform to raise terror financing and cross-border terrorism directly before the very states it accuses, converting proximity to rivals into pressure [2].

Functional and normative gains

• Cooperation on climate, energy conservation and connectivity was formalised through the Bishkek Declaration, four MoUs and over twenty decisions [1].
• India's offer to host the first SCO Civilisation Dialogue Forum signals agenda-setting capacity, not passive membership [1].

Managing the rival factor

• The SCO's consensus rule protects India: no declaration binds it against its will, so rival-driven language can be blocked.
• Yet consensus also dilutes outcomes, and China's economic weight and Pakistan's incoming chairmanship limit ambition — making SCO one pillar, not the whole structure.

The SCO therefore serves India best as a managed engagement: modest in deliverables, indispensable in access. Balanced against India's BRICS chairship and the New Delhi Summit [4] and its Indo-Pacific partnerships, it exemplifies multi-alignment — strategic autonomy exercised through simultaneous memberships rather than exclusive camps.