New Delhi (AP) – Beijing offer for improved regional leadership suffered a setback Thursday when India rejected the signing of a joint declaration put before the members of the Shanghai cooperation organization sustained in China, saying that it was pro -Pakistan not to mention April terrorist attack against Indian tourists.
Indian Minister of Defense, Rajnath Singh, said the press release diluted India’s position on critical issues such as terrorism and regional security, said a person familiar with the Associated Press subject to anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media.
India criticizes Pakistan for supporting the armed men behind the murder of April 22 of 26 people, including most Indian Hindu tourists, cashmere controlled by India, and described it as a terrorist attack. Islamabad denies the accusation.
Singh allegedly alleged that the joint statement “suited the story of Pakistan” because it did not include this attack but mentioned militant activities in Baloutchistan, the person said. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India to support the Balutchistan freedom movement, allegations that India denies.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India, Randir Jaiswal, said on Thursday that India wanted “the concerns about terrorism to be reflected in the SCO document, which was not acceptable to a particular country, and therefore the declaration was not adopted.”
“The SCO meeting concluded, and I understand that they could not adopt a joint declaration,” Jaiswal told the journalists of its weekly press.
The signature ceremony occurred at a meeting of the Defense Ministers Shanghai cooperation organization, A regional grouping formed by China and Russia to counter American influence in Asia.
China has largely taken over the management of SCOs, staging joint exercises and summits, while Russia is involved in its large -scale invasion of Ukraine and international isolation.
Although little known on a global scale, SCO has become one of the main instruments of China to extend its political and economic scope in traditionally neutral fields, such as India, or closely linked to Russia as Central Asia.
The meeting on Thursday took place in the city of Qingdao de China East, which houses the northern fleet of China.
Singh, in a declaration by the Ministry of Defense in which he did not explicitly name Pakistan, urged the SCO to criticize the countries which use “cross -border terrorism as a political instrument and offer shelter to terrorists”. He said members should unite to eliminate terrorism and ensure those who help such activities.
“Peace and prosperity cannot coexist with the terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of non -state actors and terrorist groups. Facing these challenges requires decisive action,” said Singh.
The April 22 murders involved the two nuclear nations in the most serious military confrontation in decades. After days of fire exchange, they agreed to put an end to all military actions under the United States. ceasefire.
On Wednesday, the Chinese Minister of Defense, Dong Jun, held individual meetings with his counterparts in Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. India, Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan and Uzbekistan are also members.
“Unilateralism and protectionism increase, while hegemonic, authoritarian and intimidating acts seriously undermine international order, making these practices the greatest sources of chaos and damage,” said Dong according to the official Xinhua news agency, in a blow in the United States and its allies.
China and India have border disputes over several decades and Beijing has become one of the The allies closest to Pakistan.
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The writer Associated Press, Christopher Bodeen, contributed to this story of Taipei, Taiwan.
