'One particular country objected...': MEA explains why India refused to sign SCO defence declaration

India declined to sign the joint declaration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting in China after its proposals to include strong references to terrorism were not accepted.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that consensus was blocked by “one particular country.”

“India wanted concerns and terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country, and therefore the statement could not be adopted,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a press briefing.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who represented India at the two-day meet, used his address to underline India’s firm position on terrorism and the need for collective action among SCO members.

“The Defence Minister, in his address, called upon these 11 countries to come together to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations... He also reiterated the need to uphold that the perpetrators, organisers, financers, sponsors of reprehensible acts of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, need to be held accountable and brought to justice,” Jaiswal added.

India’s decision also stemmed from the document's failure to mention the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, while it did include references to incidents in Pakistan.

Officials said this selective framing was unacceptable to New Delhi.

At the SCO meet...
At the meeting, Singh warned that terrorism and peace cannot co-exist, and called out countries that shield or support extremist groups. Without naming Pakistan, he said, “I believe that the biggest challenges that we are facing in our region are related to peace, security and trust deficit. And the root cause of these problems is increasing radicalisation, extremism and terrorism.”

“Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges requires decisive action, and we must unite in our fight against these evils for our collective safety and security,” Singh added.

The SCO meeting concluded without the adoption of a joint declaration due to the lack of unanimity on terrorism language, despite India’s push to include clear references to cross-border threats and the need for accountability.