The Case for Bringing Syria Into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

By Andrew Korybko
Global Research,
Oriental Review

Syria is ground-zero in the battle between the Resistant & Defiant (R&D) multipolar states and the unipolar world, and the resolution of the conflict would therefore have enormous implications for both sides. Thus far, however, the only R&D states that have been offering substantial support to Damascus in its war on terror have been Russia and Iran, while the rest of them simply make symbolic statements which, although supportive of the cause, basically serve in ceding the on-the-ground initiative to the unipolar front. The multipolar world needs to understand that all of its adherents have an existential stake in tangibly assisting the democratically elected government there and ending the War on Syria in its favor, and the inclusion of Syria into the SCO would facilitate this and be a strong step in the direction of global multipolarity.

The following are the legal, military, and strategic cases for bringing Syria into the SCO:

Legal

The Charter of the SCO shows that it is easily possible to bring Syria into the grouping, provided that the political will to do so is present. Let’s take a closer look:

Article 3:

This section crucially mentions about how the SCO works to promote peace, security, and confidence “in the region”, but the ‘region’ itself is never defined. It’s left purposely abstract, much as the concepts of ‘North Atlantic’ and ‘Europe’ are when it comes to unipolar institutions. For example, about 95% of Turkey is located in Asia, yet it’s still a member of NATO and wants to join the EU. This shows that certain regions can extend well past what their expected geographic boundaries may be.

As for the SCO, many people assume it’s restricted to Central Asia, but that’s not true. Neither China nor Russia are Central Asian countries, with about a quarter of Russia even being in Europe. Not only that, but looking at the SCO’s dialogue partners and observers, we see such states as Turkey and Sri Lanka, Mideast and South Asian states respectively. This means that we can draw the conclusion that the SCO’s ‘region’, so to speak, is Eurasia, and that if Turkey can be made a dialogue partner, then neighboring Syria most certainly has the same right as well.

Map of SCO: Green: members; Light blue: observers; Dark blue: dialogue partners.

Article 14:

This important part of the Charter says that a state or international organization needs to be either a dialogue partner or observer in order to cooperate with the SCO. Using at Turkey as an example, Syria can become a simple dialogue partner in order to begin reaping the expected dividends of the SCO. The process for doing this, as according to the document, is “established by a special agreement of member States.”Although the specifics aren’t provided, Article 16 can be cited to draw more information about this process and serve as an informative guideline.

Article 16:

To quote the most relevant part of the Article:
“Should one or several member States be not interested in implementing particular cooperation projects of interest to other member States, non‑participation of the abovesaid member States in these projects shall not prevent the implementation of such cooperation projects by the member States concerned and, at the same time, shall not prevent the said member States from joining such projects at a later stage.”

This can be taken to mean that the SCO does not have to be unanimous in its decision to approve cooperation projects, and that a dissenting state cannot throw a wrench in the process for everyone else. Therefore, looking at this legal framework, we can see that Syria absolutely has the legal grounds to cooperate with the SCO if the SCO so chooses. This is why Afghanistan, an observer state, is legally eligible for SCO support, but Syria has yet to be until it defines its official relationship with the multipolar institution.

As is seen from the three highlighted Articles of the SCO Charter, there are no legal obstacles to it cooperating with Syria as a dialogue partner. The only thing holding this proposal back is that the benefits of doing so haven’t been properly articulated until now, ergo the following two sections…..more here

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The Case for Bringing Syria Into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)