SCO Or 'Strategic Complicity Organisation'? India's Fight Against Double Standards
China and Pakistan's growing nexus is systematically undermining India's security and strategic space
The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting held in Qingdao, China, on June 25-26, 2025, once again exposed the deepening strategic nexus between China and Pakistan —and their growing antagonism towards India. The meeting concluded without a joint communiqué after India refused to endorse a final statement that excluded any reference to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 innocent civilians. New Delhi had insisted on including the attack, which was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, Pakistan, with China's tacit backing, blocked any mention of it—mirroring an earlier episode at the United Nations Security Council on April 30, where Pakistan and China successfully lobbied to remove TRF's name from an official UNSC statement. Despite credible intelligence linking TRF to the attack, and the group itself claiming responsibility via a social media post, the final UNSC statement was deliberately diluted. Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, even publicly admitted that Islamabad had pushed for the exclusion of TRF's name—an act that indirectly confirms Pakistan's awareness and complicity of the group's involvement.
These actions reveal a deliberate and coordinated strategy by China and Pakistan, with Beijing actively shielding Islamabad—a state sponsor of terrorism against India—from international accountability. By obstructing efforts to address cross-border terrorism and weakening multilateral counterterrorism mechanisms, they pose a direct threat to India's national security and diplomatic interests.
The Expanding China-Pakistan Strategic Nexus
sharing real-time satellite-based ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) data with Islamabad. China has integrated its ISR networks with Pakistan's, deploying defence satellites and assisting in reorganising Pakistan's radar and air defence systems. During Operation Sindoor in May 2025 —launched in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack—China not only supplied intelligence on Indian targets but also reportedly helped redeploy Pakistan's radar coverage to better monitor Indian military movements.
According to strategic analyst Iqbal Chand Malhotra, this joint ISR and missile cooperation 'underscores a calculated shift toward integrated defence coordination to counter India", reaffirming that China views Pakistan as an extension of its strategic depth.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed the intelligence-sharing arrangement, calling it 'very normal" given the regional security climate. Supporting this, a research group under India's Ministry of Defence noted that China's satellite capabilities and technical expertise significantly enhanced Pakistan's ability to detect Indian deployments.
Additionally, Pakistan deployed Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missiles during the skirmish. Although these were intercepted by Indian defence systems, the deployment of these advanced missiles—likely including the export variant PL-15E mounted on J-10C and JF-17 fighter aircraft—demonstrates the deepening military interoperability between the two nations.
Now, in a deeply alarming development, China is preparing to supply Pakistan with fifth-generation fighter jets—at a 50% discounted rate. This is not a routine defence sale. It reflects Beijing's intent to further militarise Pakistan and destabilise India's strategic balance. Clearly, China considers Pakistan an extension of its strategic apparatus in South Asia, using it as a proxy to counter and constrain India.
Beijing pursues a comprehensive and integrated strategic approach. It uses every tool available—diplomatic, military, and economic—while leveraging allies like Pakistan to systematically box India into the South Asian theatre. India, however, has often made the mistake of treating these threats in isolation—formulating separate defence strategies for China and Pakistan, when in fact they are increasingly acting as one coordinated entity.
India's Pushback at the SCO
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, refusing to sign the SCO communiqué, made a decisive stand—reviewing the document carefully on-site and rejecting superficial commitments to anti-terrorism. Footage from the summit shows Singh intently studying the document—clearly aware of the diplomatic trap laid for India.
Singh stated firmly: 'Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including its cross-border nature, should be condemned in clear terms. There should be no place for double standards in dealing with terrorists." He further warned that 'some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their state policy and provide shelter to terrorists. These states should be held accountable." These pointed remarks were widely interpreted as a clear rebuke to Pakistan and its enabler, China.
Unfortunately, some voices within India have mischaracterised this as a failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy. Such interpretations are misplaced and fail to account for the broader strategic context. The current global environment is far more complex, with China and Pakistan actively coordinating to undermine India's interests, making diplomacy increasingly challenging. China, emboldened by its global ambitions, is using Pakistan as a strategic weapon against India.
The SCO, hosted by China, reflects this imbalance. India cannot control the behaviour of adversarial states—especially when the host country is itself complicit. This blatant double standard exposes their coordinated agenda and willingness to manipulate multilateral platforms for geopolitical gains.
Critics must understand that India's foreign policy does not operate in a vacuum, nor is New Delhi the sole actor on the global stage directing the actions of others. On a geopolitical landscape marked by shifting alliances, asymmetric threats, and strategic deception, many external variables remain beyond India's control. What truly matters is that India continues to assert its national interests, reject duplicity, and hold accountable those who attempt to whitewash terrorism under the pretext of regional cooperation.
China's Hollow Rhetoric vs Hostile Actions
China continues to peddle diplomatic slogans like the 'shared Asian Century", the 'Dragon-Elephant Dance", and the Russia-India-China (RIC) framework. However, these lofty ideas are consistently contradicted by its actions—shielding Pakistan-based terrorists, arming Pakistan with advanced military hardware, and obstructing regional cooperation on counterterrorism. From betraying Nehru in 1962 despite the 'Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai" rhetoric to the deadly Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, where 20 Indian soldiers were martyred, China has repeatedly acted in bad faith, even while professing partnership and regional unity.
China's primary objective remains clear: to contain India's rise, limit its strategic space, and ensure that New Delhi remains preoccupied with continental security challenges rather than expanding its maritime influence in the Indian Ocean. Even if the border dispute between India and China were to be resolved, the underlying geopolitical and geostrategic rivalry would persist, as both powers are rising within the same strategic space and their spheres of influence overlap. Those who dismiss the relevance of 'spheres of influence" in contemporary geopolitics should reflect on recent history: Russia's invasion of Ukraine was driven by its perception that NATO was encroaching on its strategic space. Similarly, China's use of Pakistan and other regional actors to counterbalance India is a clear manifestation of this thinking in the South Asian context.
Beijing's worldview is rooted in realpolitik, shaped by centuries of geopolitical thought and strategic tradition, including the oft-cited belief among Chinese strategists that 'two tigers cannot live on the same mountain". The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for instance, is more than an infrastructure project; it embodies China's ambition to reshape global power structures and extend its influence across continents. It reflects not only a deep pride in China's strategic heritage but also a long-term vision for global leadership.
The SCO's Shifting Power Dynamics
The very raison d'être of the SCO—counterterrorism—has come under serious question. Despite housing a dedicated anti-terrorism mechanism known as the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the SCO today is dominated by China and Pakistan, both of whom routinely block any attempt to acknowledge or act against terror groups targeting India. This contradiction has undermined the credibility of the organisation.
As External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recently pointed out, 'India wanted a reference to terrorism in the outcome document of the defence ministers' meeting, but it was not acceptable to one country". He further stated, 'If you can't get everybody to agree on something as basic as terrorism, then it calls into question what the SCO stands for."
India joined the SCO in 2017, largely at the invitation of Russia, which at the time aimed to balance China's growing dominance within the organisation. However, since the Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow has become increasingly dependent on Beijing, and its ability to counterbalance China within the SCO has significantly diminished. As a result, China and Pakistan have consolidated their influence, often sidelining India's interests.
Nevertheless, India continues to actively engage bilaterally with Central Asian countries and does not rely solely on the SCO framework. The organisation remains one of several platforms for regional diplomacy, and India views it as part of a broader and diversified engagement strategy with Eurasia.
Conclusion
India must stop viewing the China-Pakistan axis through fragmented lenses. These two countries are acting in coordination to constrain India's rise and dilute its strategic autonomy. New Delhi must adopt an integrated strategic doctrine to confront this dual threat.
China's diplomatic overtures—be it talk of shared prosperity, Asian solidarity, or multilateral dialogue—must be scrutinised against its actions. India must forcefully and clearly convey that Beijing's consistent use of Pakistan to pursue its anti-India agenda is unacceptable. China's protection of destabilising non-state actors, defence proliferation, and ISR integration with Pakistan directly undermine India's security and sovereignty.
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The road ahead requires strategic clarity, national unity, and a willingness to call out hypocrisy on the global stage. As India's stature continues to grow, its neighbourhood will become increasingly challenging—particularly with hostile nexuses like that of China and Pakistan working in tandem. It is time India acknowledged this reality and acted accordingly.
Imran Khurshid is Associate Research Fellow, ICPS, New Delhi, and Adjunct Research Fellow, Peninsula Foundation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.
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China defence pakistan SCO
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New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
July 06, 2025, 01:40 IST
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