SCO ministers meet amidst global tensions
Defense ministers from Iran and Russia are attending a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries in China.
This gathering comes amidst a tense situation in the Middle East and follows a NATO summit where members agreed to increase military spending in Europe.
This meeting in Qingdao, a city on China's east coast, is being held after a truce between Israel and Iran—an SCO member country—came into effect on Tuesday, as reported by AFP, cited by news.ro.
The gathering comes just one day after the NATO leaders' summit in The Hague, where members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed to increase defense spending following pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun framed Thursday's meeting in Qingdao, home to an important Chinese naval base, as a counterbalance to a world grappling with "chaos and instability."
"Crucial changes of the century are accelerating, and unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise," Dong Jun stated on Wednesday in the presence of defense ministers from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and other nations, according to China's official news agency Xinhua.
He added that "dominating and bullying hegemonic acts severely undermine the international order," urging his counterparts "to act more vigorously to collectively safeguard an environment conducive to peaceful development."
Beijing has long sought to present the SCO—which has ten members—as a counterbalance to power blocs allied with the United States, encouraging political, security, commercial, and scientific cooperation.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, also present in Qingdao, stated that SCO members should "jointly work towards fulfilling the desires and expectations of our peoples and tackle current challenges."
"The world we live in is undergoing a drastic transformation. Globalization, which once brought us closer, is losing its momentum," the Indian Defense Minister declared.
In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov praised Russia's ties with China, stating they have reached "an unprecedented level."
"Friendly relations between our countries are maintaining an upward development dynamic in all directions," the Russian Defense Minister noted.
China officially presents itself as neutral regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but several governments allied with Kyiv accuse Beijing of providing crucial economic and diplomatic aid to Moscow.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
