Why the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation isn’t Nato for Iran

AI Summary

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is increasingly influenced by China as Central Asian states reconsider their geopolitical alignments amid US-Iran conflict. Kyrgyzstan is set to host an upcoming summit to address regional security and cooperation.

Central Asia is tilting more decisively towards China as geopolitical uncertainty deepens, with Beijing’s expanding influence recasting the former Soviet states’ strategic orientation. In the final instalment of a three-part series, Cao Jiaxuan examines how Central Asian members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation have shaped the bloc’s response to the US-Iran conflict. Read the first part here and the second part here. As Kyrgyzstan gears up to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation...