‘China’s nightmare’: how far can Beijing and Moscow go in the fight against Isis-K and the ‘3 evils’?

After attacks in Russia and Pakistan, analysts expect more focus on combating terrorism when China chairs SCO in July

But conflicting interests and distrust among members of Eurasian security bloc could limit counterterrorism intervention

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Recent terror attacks in Pakistan and Moscow could draw Russia and China closer as they look to refocus regional attention back on the fight against extremism. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:05am, 9 Apr 2024

Two deadly terror attacks last month – one at a concert hall in a Moscow suburb, and the other a few days later in Pakistan where five Chinese workers died in a suicide bombing – have sounded alarms in Russia and China, both key members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a Eurasian security bloc.

With China set to chair the SCO from July, analysts said they expected Beijing to place greater focus on combating terrorism in the region, catalysing further security cooperation among member states.

The attacks could also draw Russia and China closer as they look to dispel foreign forces that they believed intended to destabilise the region, analysts said.

While counterterrorism has always been high on the SCO’s agenda, the recent attacks would likely “focus attention back onto that challenge”, according to Ian Hall, professor of international relations at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.

The SCO – set up in 2001 by China, Russia and several former Soviet republics to ease border tensions – has traditionally emphasised battling the “three evils” – terrorism, separatism and extremism.

As the group expanded to include India, Pakistan and most recently Iran, its scope has broadened to include issues like economic cooperation.