India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh refused to toe the line at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here on Wednesday, declining to sign a joint communiqué that appeared to sidestep terrorism, an issue India has long flagged as central to regional peace.
Singh’s rare display of defiance left the bloc of ten member states, including China, Russia and Pakistan, unable to release a consensus statement at the close of the summit. His intervention, which many diplomatic observers described as “bold” and “timely”, came amid a growing perception that the international community has, in recent years, shifted focus from terrorism to conventional warfare and flashpoint conflicts.
In his address, Singh lambasted the use of terrorism as an instrument of statecraft, an oblique but unmistakable reference to Pakistan, and cited the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in the recent Pahalgam massacre. “The use of terrorism as a tool to bleed countries must be condemned unequivocally,” he said.
Twenty-six civilians were killed in the Pahalgam attack earlier this year while holidaying in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian officials have blamed Pakistan-based groups for the massacre.
Singh’s remarks stood in stark contrast to the broader tone of the summit, where most participants focused on military cooperation, regional security architecture, and logistics. While counter-terrorism was on the agenda, it received less prominence than India had hoped for.
The defence minister’s stance, officials confirmed, effectively blocked consensus on the joint declaration, which would have downplayed India’s concerns about cross-border terrorism.
Also read: 'We must unite against terror,' Rajnath urges SCO in China
This year’s SCO summit drew defence ministers from member states across the region. India’s relations with both Pakistan and China have remained fraught in recent years, and Singh used the forum to point at India’s pressing security challenges along both its western and eastern borders.
On the sidelines of the summit, Singh held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun. Discussions centred on easing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), especially in eastern Ladakh, where the military standoff continues five years after the Galwan Valley clashes of 2020.
“The conversation included the possibility of restarting the long-frozen military hotline between the two armies,” a defence official present at the meeting told this correspondent.
Sources in South Block revealed that India also conveyed its apprehensions over increased Chinese military activity near the Siliguri corridor and in Arunachal Pradesh. The eastern theatre has seen enhanced surveillance and forward deployments by the People’s Liberation Army in recent months.
India’s strategic anxieties have been compounded by tensions with Pakistan. A fresh border standoff ensued following India’s cross-border Operation Sindoor, escalating military posturing on both sides. Singh’s comments at the summit are seen as New Delhi’s attempt to push back against attempts to dilute the terrorism narrative.
Though India was isolated in its refusal to sign the SCO joint statement, senior defence officials said the move was necessary to maintain the country’s principled stand on terror.
“The minister stood his ground, and that in itself was a message,” a senior Indian delegate said.
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