India says defence gathering in China unable to adopt joint statement
NEW DELHI/BEIJING: Defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in China were unable to adopt a joint statement at the end of their talks due to a lack of consensus on referring to 'terrorism', the Indian foreign ministry said on Thursday.
SCO is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Their defence ministers' meeting was held as a precursor to the annual summit of its leaders set for the autumn.
'Certain members, member countries, could not reach consensus on certain issues and hence the document could not be finalised on our side,' Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a weekly media briefing.
'India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country and therefore the statement was not adopted,' he said, without naming the country.
FO dismisses speculation about Asif-Singh's meeting in China
Indian media reported that New Delhi had refused to sign the document after it omitted reference to the April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK) , in which 26 people were killed.
India blamed Pakistan for the attack but Islamabad rejected the accusation. The attack led to the worst fighting in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours after India struck what it called 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir.
Pakistan denied that the targets had anything to do with 'terrorism' and that they were civilian facilities.
The foreign ministries of China and Pakistan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on India's statement.
Earlier on Thursday, when asked about the joint statement, a Chinese defence ministry spokesperson said the meeting had 'achieved successful results', without elaborating.
It was the first time that senior ministers from India and Pakistan had shared a stage since their clash in May.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
31 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
SCO refuses to toe India's line
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun, India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Kazakhstan's Defence Minister Dauren Kosanov, Kyrgyzstan's Defence Minister Ruslan Mukambetov, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov applaud following a group photo, before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting in Qingdao, Shandong province, China June 26, 2025. Photo: Reuters Listen to article Defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) were unable to adopt a joint statement at their meeting in Qingdao, China, after India reportedly refused to sign the document, claiming it was pro-Pakistan for not referencing the April attack on Indian tourists. The SCO is a 10-member Eurasian security and political bloc comprising China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran and several Central Asian states. The defence ministers' meeting was held ahead of the annual leaders' summit scheduled for later this year. Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif led Pakistan's delegation at the meeting, where he reaffirmed the country's commitment to regional stability, collective security and counterterrorism cooperation. In his address, the minister condemned Israel's recent military actions against Iran and the continuing violence in Gaza while calling for peaceful resolutions to long-standing global disputes, including Kashmir and Palestine. Read More: SCO brings Pakistan, India defence ministers together Underscoring the SCO's importance as a platform for dialogue, mutual trust and regional cooperation, Mr Asif reiterated Pakistan's commitment to the principles of the United Nations Charter and the SCO Charter, describing them as essential to promoting global peace, good neighbourly relations and multilateral collaboration. He further condemned the recent terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), urging the international community to hold accountable those who finance and support such acts. He also referred to the Jaffar Express bombing in Balochistan as another example of cross-border terrorism undermining regional peace. Highlighting unresolved conflicts as serious threats to global stability, Mr Asif stressed the need for peaceful resolution of issues like Kashmir and Palestine through diplomacy, mediation and sustained dialogue. However, the meeting reportedly faced a setback when India declined to endorse the final statement, arguing it favoured Pakistan's stance. The Indian delegation objected to the omission of any reference to the April 22 attack on Hindu pilgrims in IIOJK, in which 26 people were killed. India blamed Pakistan for the incident, a charge Islamabad firmly rejected. The attack led to some of the most intense cross-border exchanges in years, after India claimed to have targeted 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan denied the accusation, stating that the sites targeted were civilian in nature and had no links to terrorism. Also Read: Rajnath to attend SCO summit in China Citing anonymous sources, the Foreign News Agency reported that Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh believed the draft communiqué 'diluted India's position on critical issues such as terrorism and regional security.' Singh reportedly said the joint statement 'suited Pakistan's narrative' because it omitted the April attack but included mention of terrorist activity in Balochistan — a region where Pakistan has long accused India of supporting separatist elements, allegations that New Delhi denies. "Certain members, member countries, could not reach consensus on certain issues and hence the document could not be finalised on our side," Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a weekly media briefing. "India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country and therefore the statement was not adopted," he said, without naming the country. The Qingdao meeting marked the first time senior ministers from India and Pakistan shared a stage since their military standoff in May.
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
China moves on fentanyl crackdown as tensions with US over tariffs persist
China has taken a series of actions in the past week on counter-narcotics, in a sign of cooperation with US demands for stronger action on the synthetic opioid fentanyl, a key irritant in the bilateral relationship. US President Donald Trump imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese imports in February over Beijing's alleged failure to curb the flow of precursor chemicals for fentanyl, which has caused nearly 450,000 US overdose deaths. Those tariffs have remained in effect despite a fragile trade truce reached in Geneva in May. Beijing has defended its drug control record and accused Washington of using fentanyl to "blackmail" China. Both sides were in a stalemate over the issue for months, despite China sending its vice public security minister to the Geneva talks. China has balked at some of Washington's demands which include publicising the crackdown on precursors on the front page of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, educating Party members and tightening regulation of specific chemicals, among other actions. On Thursday, China's State Security Ministry accused a "certain country" of "deliberately launching unwarranted attacks on China over the fentanyl issue", in a veiled swipe at the US. But last Friday, Beijing added two precursors to a list of controlled chemicals starting July 20, according to a government statement. The chemicals, 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone, were "considered fundamental to resolving the fentanyl issue," raising hopes that the 20% tariffs could be eventually lifted, according to a source familiar with US government thinking. The move came after US Ambassador David Perdue had a rare meeting with China's Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong last Thursday in Beijing, at which Wang expressed willingness to work with Washington on drug control, according to a Chinese statement. China's Foreign Ministry said the action on precursors was an "independent measure" taken by Beijing in line with the UN Drug Convention and "demonstrates China's attitude of actively participating in global drug governance." Working-level conversations on fentanyl remain ongoing and Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the topic in a June 5 phone call. Chinese immigration officials seized 2.42 tons of drugs and arrested 262 suspects for drug smuggling so far this year, state media reported Thursday, as Beijing vowed to crack down on drug trafficking and "intensify anti-drug propaganda" in border areas and ports. In addition, Chinese officials announced on Wednesday they had prosecuted more than 1,300 people and arrested over 700 more nationwide for drug-related money laundering offences between January and May this year, a 2.1% year-on-year increase. Beijing will "cut off the criminal interest chain and destroy the economic foundation of drug crimes," Miao Shengming, a senior official at the Supreme People's Procuratorate said during a press conference. On Monday, a court in the southeastern province of Fujian handed a suspended death sentence to former drug control official Liu Yuejin for bribery, state media reported. Liu, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security's narcotics control bureau, was convicted of illegally receiving bribes worth over 121 million yuan ($17 million) between 1992 and 2020. The US Embassy in Beijing did not respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government statements did not mention the US. Chinese scholars acknowledge that fentanyl's central position in the US.-China trade war comes with a lot of political baggage for Beijing. "The US views the fentanyl issue as a sign of poor governance on China's part and has exerted pressure on China as a result, politicising the issue of drug control," said Liu Weidong, a US-China expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "This context is certain to influence China's approach to addressing the fentanyl issue."
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India says defence gathering in China unable to adopt joint statement
NEW DELHI/BEIJING: Defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in China were unable to adopt a joint statement at the end of their talks due to a lack of consensus on referring to 'terrorism', the Indian foreign ministry said on Thursday. SCO is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Their defence ministers' meeting was held as a precursor to the annual summit of its leaders set for the autumn. 'Certain members, member countries, could not reach consensus on certain issues and hence the document could not be finalised on our side,' Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a weekly media briefing. 'India wanted concerns on terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country and therefore the statement was not adopted,' he said, without naming the country. FO dismisses speculation about Asif-Singh's meeting in China Indian media reported that New Delhi had refused to sign the document after it omitted reference to the April 22 attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK) , in which 26 people were killed. India blamed Pakistan for the attack but Islamabad rejected the accusation. The attack led to the worst fighting in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours after India struck what it called 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir. Pakistan denied that the targets had anything to do with 'terrorism' and that they were civilian facilities. The foreign ministries of China and Pakistan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on India's statement. Earlier on Thursday, when asked about the joint statement, a Chinese defence ministry spokesperson said the meeting had 'achieved successful results', without elaborating. It was the first time that senior ministers from India and Pakistan had shared a stage since their clash in May.
