SCO outshines NATO in valuing cooperation

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on Sept 11-12 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, is likely to see member states issue a joint statement to boost multilateral strategic cooperation.

The SCO was designed to promote open, pragmatic and transparent cooperation among member states for regional development, rather than as a political or military group. In its approach to cooperation, the SCO is fundamentally different from the US-led NATO, which was founded during the Cold War. NATO, an alliance borne out of the postwar confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union, was established to strengthen military ties among its member states and to serve as a joint military force to reinforce the US' leadership across the globe.

The Sept 4 NATO summit in Wales, the United Kingdom, expressed great concern over the security situation in Europe and the Ukraine crisis. Vowing to extend more support to Ukraine through the "Readiness Action Plan", the summit was actually seeking to contain Russia.