International Journal of Political Science ISSN: 2228-6217 Vol.7, No 4, Winter 2017, (pp.1-21) The Impact of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Central Asia’s Security Hedayat Allah Nobar Turkaman1, Fatemeh Hashemi2, Mohammadreza Dehshiri3* 1Department of International Relations, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 2 2Department of International Relations, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran 3 Department of International Relations, School of International Relations (SIR), Tehran, Iran Received: 22 Nov 2016 ; Accepted: 20 Oct 2017 Abstract: This paper tries to address the impact of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Central Asian security. This organization was established on April 26, 1996 to settle security and territo- rial disputes between China and Russia and Central Asian countries (other than Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). After the accession of Uzbekistan to this assembly, the level of the organization was promoted, and its geographic scope has been expanded in the following years by the mem- bership of new countries. Although significant changes have been made and economic issues have been raised in the process of developments in this regional security cooperation, this or- ganization has paid attention to security-military disputes and problems. The main question of the paper is how does the Shanghai Cooperation Organization play a role in the Central Asia’s security? This paper fully addresses the impact of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Central Asia, and the effects of this organization on the security and stability of Central Asia with the settlement of regional conflicts, such as fighting against terrorism, separatism and ex- tremism, drug and arms trade, organizational crimes, concerns about insecurity and domestic instability, and in particular the occurrence of color revolutions in countries and confronting with American influence and unilateralism. Keywords: Regional security, Terrorism, Separatism, Extremism, Economic interactions, Organized crime, NATO, Domestic instability Introduction republics as independent political entities, The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the and Central Asia became a "geopolitical hub" independence of its constituent fifteen among countries like Russia, China, India, * Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected] 2 The Impact of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on … Pakistan and Iran. In this context, the Shang- portance of multilateral cooperation in the hai Cooperation Organization was estab- Shanghai organization is well understood. In lished among the member states in this re- this regard, multilateral cooperation in the gion. security relations of the member states is a The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's great help to small governments to protect security approach is concentrated on Central their independence. In this article, single Asia, because it is the most vulnerable region sample t-test has been used to study and to the terrorism and extremism threats. Not analyze the research. only is the issue clear at the theoretical level, but the need for security in the region has Improving the Security of Central Asian repeatedly emphasized in the statements of Countries the regional authorities. Territorial disputes are usually the most prob- In fact, training programs and counter ter- lematic issue between two or more countries. rorism operations as well as intelligence ser- Throughout history, territorial disputes have vices are designed to protect Central Asian led to military conflict and even war between governments against new threats and enable countries. During the Cold War, these dis- them to encounter with their challenges. On putes led to an armed conflict between China the other hand, the two major powers of this and the Soviet Union at 4,600 miles of bor- organization are also concerned about their derlines in the 1960s and 1970s. In the mid- own security. There is a consensus among 1980s, along with the improvement of rela- members of the Shanghai Organization that tions between Beijing and Moscow, the two the region's security should be strengthened sides began a serious dialogue to resolve bor- by strengthening the weak regional ties. This der disputes and the negotiations reached the issue is also confirmed at the summit. How- peak with the Gorbachev visiting China in ever, the alignment of the interests of the 1989. Yet, until the collapse of the Soviet Central Asian governments with the two Union, territorial issues remained unresolved. great powers of the organization was not Many residents in China and Central Asia clear in the past, because larger governments were reluctant to compromise on the borders want to control and confront the sources of of their country, but despite this negative threat in Central Asia for preventing the context, China and Central Asian countries spread in their territory. continued border talks boldly curtail until Another important change emerged since permanent resolution (Shafiee, 2006: 59). the joint anti-terrorist operation of China- Because of the agreements between China Kyrgyzstan in 2002 is that the Central Asian and Russia in 1991 and 1994, the borderlines countries and larger states understand the were set up between the two countries. Fol- importance of multilateral relations on securi- lowing the above process, three newly inde- ty issues rather than their bilateral approach- pendent countries bordering China, namely es. However, bilateral relations with Russia Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan par- are still important for some Central Asian ticipated in border talks between China and governments due to the thinking remained Russia. Finally, on April 26, 1996 in Shang- from the Soviet period. Above all, the im- hai, the five countries signed a treaty called 3 International Journal of Political Science, Vol.7, No 4, Winter 2017 “Military Confidence Building Agreement” organization's legal, political, fundamentals aimed at strengthening mutual confidence and goals have been foreseen. and disarmament along the lengthy borders According to many experts, the reasons of each other, and thereby established the for the formation of the Shanghai Coopera- Shanghai Five. According to 1996 Agree- tion Organization can be examined at two ment called "Shanghai Treaty on Deepening levels: international and regional. Factors Military Trust in Border Regions", members such as the collapse of the bipolar system, the pledged to avoid attack or conflict in border vague prospect of new international structure, areas, to refrain from military exercises as a the U.S. efforts to establish a unipolar sys- threat to each other, to decrease the scope and tem, the expansion of NATO to the East, the the number of military training courses, to decisions necessary to formulate new rules inform each other of military operations that and shaping the international system for max- they intend to carry out within 100-kilometer imum benefits are among the international of common border, and to invite military of- reasons. On the other hand, the reasons such ficials from neighboring countries to oversee as the war in Afghanistan, Tajikistan's inter- (Tao, 2002). Based on the Shanghai 5 mech- nal unrest, and the member states’ common anism, China signed a border agreement with concern of the Islamic radical movements in Kyrgyzstan in July 1996, which resolved the their homeland and around their borders are border issues of the two countries over 858- at the regional level. According to the kilometer common border (Azakan, 2010, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Charter, 398). A year later, in 1997, at a summit in the goals of the organization are as follows: Moscow, two other documents were signed avoiding any dispute among member states with the aim of promoting the level of mili- due to the tense relations between China and tary security and reducing military force in the Soviet Union that led to the extensive the border regions. During the annual and presence of military forces on the borders of regular summits, the issues of interest were the two countries, the uncertainty caused by gradually expanded from the security of bor- the collapse of the Soviet Union and for- ders into beneficial cooperation in the politi- mation of independent states with tense bor- cal, security, diplomatic, economic and trade ders, strengthening regional security and do- sectors. mestic stability through fighting against the At the 5th Summit in Shanghai on June 15, triple evil of separatism, terrorism, drugs and 2001, the Shanghai Five Member States, with finally respect for the Anti-Ballistic Missile the proposal of Jiang Zemin, admitted the Treaty. Republic of Uzbekistan - which was an ob- In line with statements by Russian Presi- server state at the 2000 Summit - as a mem- dent Vladimir Putin saying that the Shanghai ber state. Then, all six states signed the Dec- Five is not a closed club and it is open for the laration of Shanghai Cooperation Organiza- membership of other countries, the organiza- tion with the aim of strengthening confidence tion has found wider scope by joining Mon- and encouraging the disarmament of the bor- golia in June 2004 as well as India, Pakistan der regions (Oksuz, 2009, 715). At the St. and the Islamic Republic of Iran in June 2005 Petersburg Summit in June 2002, the organi- as observer members of the Shanghai Coop- zational structure of the Shanghai Coopera- eration Organization (SCO), subsequently tion Organization was adopted,