Mission Afghanistan: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Goes “Out of Area”

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was formed to achieve twin objectives: to counter and contain the US influence in Eurasia and to balance the Russian and Chinese influence within a multilateral group in that space. Since its inception, the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and extremism have been at the core of its concerns and activities. Afghanistan, therefore, has been a virtual test-case of its commitment and the raison d’etre of its existence. It is also the first ever “Out of Area” operation that it has undertaken. Committing itself to the Afghan issue is going beyond its mandate; not to have done so would have undermined its very credibility. Its “Out of Area” mission is modeled on the NATO example and has been duly acknowledged by NATO. Like any other regional organisation, it suffers from internal divisions and disunity. And like the rest of the world, it recognises the perils of an unstable Afghanistan. To that extent, it shares a common goal with the US that neither of them can achieve alone. It remains to be seen whether SCO’s recognition of a common goal and working towards it with the US will lead to a transcendence of its own ultimate objective of containment and eventual rollback of the US from its strategic neighbourhood.