The Rise of Multipolar Asia

Written by Kanav Karmakar

Edited by Aveev Pankaj

China, India, and Pakistan. Though these states are traditionally well-known as rivals, their collaborations should be taken into account, with these states, among others, making decisions that change the narrative of Asian politics. This is through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization--an Inter-Governmental Organization that meets twice annually to discuss policies on security, counterterrorism, economy, culture, society, and energy.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization comes from the Shanghai 5, a set of five states that met annually in Shanghai to discuss policy and sign treaties. These five states--China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan--started their cooperation by signing the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai on the 26th of April 1996. 1 year later on the 24th of April, the states met again, signing the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces. Afterwards, the location of the conference changed annually, moving to Kazakhstan in 1998, Kyrgyzstan in 1999, and onwards to other member states. By 2001, the conference moved back to Shanghai. During this conference, all member states admitted Uzbekistan into the conference--institutionalising the conference and renaming it to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Following years finalised this change and matured the organization into what it is today, with 2002’s Saint Petersburg meeting developing the SCO charter. The organization’s member base grew quickly, with an additional 4 states joining as observers in 2004-2005. Three of these states--specifically India, Pakistan, and Iran--gained full membership in 2017, 2017, and 2023 respectively. Belarus joined as the newest member state in 2024.

Last August, the SCO met in Tianjin, discussing economic cooperation, infrastructure development, SCO reforms, multipolarity in global politics, and technology. The conference produced the Tianjin Declaration and the SCO Development Strategy to 2035, which outlined cooperation in energy, security, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. China pledged billions of yuan in aid and loans to SCO member states and the SCO interbank consortium. Russia emphasised Eurasian stability and energy security. India and China, despite their rivalry, described each other as development partners. Additional cooperation centres were created to deal with regional security, counter-narcotics, cyber issues, and transnational crime.

The Tianjin meeting demonstrated how the SCO has developed from a regional forum for border agreements into a major organization where Asian states set the terms of cooperation. The emphasis on multipolarity, sovereignty, and non-interference marked the SCO as a platform that reflects the changing structure of global politics. This shows that global order is no longer unipolar, and no longer defined only by the West. The SCO illustrates how Asian institutions can lead in building new systems of power, balancing rivalry with cooperation. Multipolarity is no longer a concept but a practice, visible in how the SCO functions today.