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Shanghaied? U.S. to question Beijing about Asian bloc

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, November 18, 2005

The Bush administration is challenging China’s leadership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the China-led organization of central Asian nations that is targeting the United States.

“On the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the big question for us is, we get the Shanghai part. It was formed in Shanghai. And we get the organization part. It's an organization. The cooperation part isn't entirely clear to us yet. What is this group cooperating to do? Is it to fight terrorism?" a senior official said.

"Well, that's something we support. Is it to strengthen stability and confidence building? That's something we support.”

The official said the administration is closely watching the SCO, which was a key observer to recent Russia-China military exercises that excluded U.S. observers.

“Every once in a while, we hear utterances from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that sound exclusive or aimed externally,” the official said. “And the world has had those kind of blocs in the past. We had them in the Cold War. We had them before World War II. We don't really need those. We need open, inclusive groupings that are moving forward a global agenda for good governance, for free trade, for confidence building.”

The official said the United States has “friends” in the SCO and that the organization would be a topic of discussion with China.


Copyright © 2005 East West Services, Inc.

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