Asian Security Bloc Calls for Closer Cooperation

November 9, 2011

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hosted his counterparts from China and four other Asian nations on Monday for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (sco), which is widely seen as a tool Beijing and Moscow use to challenge U.S. influence in the strategic Central Asia region.

The 10-year-old sco connects China and Russia with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in a security bloc that Moscow is striving to develop into an entity unified enough to rival nato.

Here are a few high points from the summit:

Putin lashed out at “arrogant world powers,” accusing Western nations of hypocrisy because they supported revolutions in North African nations which they had previously supported. The jab was a clear reference to the United States and European powers.

Russia warned the West against a military strike on Iran.

Members discussed expanding the sco to include Pakistan and Iran, and Russia officially supported Pakistan’s bid to become a full member of the alliance.

Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for major infrastructure investments to stimulate economic growth throughout the region.

Putin said member countries should cooperate in order to make the sco a leading player in the world economy, and a formidable international security force.

Wen said a top sco priority should be developing Central Asia’s transport and energy infrastructure, adding that nations should use their own currencies for bilateral transactions, rather than the dollar.

The sco’s first decade fostered remarkable unity among the member nations, but the months and years ahead will prove even more significant for the Asian bloc as it expands to include new member nations and becomes more unified. China and Russia are the regional behemoths driving the unification of the East, but the sco may well be a vehicle they use to attain that destination.

To understand the significance of a unified Asian bloc and how it is connected to the most inspiring and hope-filled event that Earth has ever seen, read Russia and China in Prophecy.