Key points
- Chinese minister criticises Western “dominance and unilateralism”
- India calls for unity to tackle shared global challenges
- Russia hails deepening military ties with China at summit
QINGDAO, China: China hosted defence ministers from Iran and Russia for a meeting in its eastern seaside city of Qingdao on Thursday against the backdrop of war in the Middle East and a summit of NATO countries in Europe that agreed to boost military spending.
Beijing has reportedly long sought to present the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed to strengthen collaboration between its member countries in politics, security, trade and science, according to AFP.
The Qingdao meeting of the organisation’s top defence officials comes as a fledgling ceasefire between Israel and Iran holds after 12 days of fighting between the arch-foes.
Increasing defence spending
It is also being held the day after a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders in The Hague, where members agreed to ramp up their defence spending to satisfy US President Donald Trump.
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun framed Thursday’s meeting of officials in Qingdao, home to a major Chinese naval base, as a counterweight to a world in “chaos and instability”.
“As momentous changes of the century accelerate, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise,” Dong said as he welcomed defence chiefs from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus and elsewhere on Wednesday, according to Xinhua.
Hegemonic acts
“Hegemonic, domineering and bullying acts severely undermine the international order,” he warned.
He urged his counterparts to “take more robust actions to jointly safeguard the environment for peaceful development”.
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, also in attendance in Qingdao, said SCO members should “collectively aspire to fulfil the aspirations and expectations of our people as well as tackle today’s challenges,” according to France 24.
“The world we live in is undergoing a drastic transformation. Globalisation, which once brought us closer together, has been losing momentum,” he said in comments posted by his office on X.
The world we live in is undergoing a drastic transformation. Globalisation, which once brought us closer together, has been losing momentum. The weakening of multilateral systems has made it harder to address urgent challenges, from maintaining peace and security to rebuilding…
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) June 26, 2025
And meeting Dong on the sidelines of the summit, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov hailed ties between the two countries as being “at an unprecedentedly high level”.
“Friendly relations between our countries maintain upward dynamics of development in all directions,” he said.
Promote peace
China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in Russia’s war with Ukraine, although Western governments claim its close ties have given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support.
Unlike NATO, which is a military alliance, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) can help promote peace and serve as an important tool for safeguarding the development of countries in the region, said Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Wednesday when attending the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting, according to Global Times.
In a media interview later on, he described the meeting with Dong as “very fruitful,” adding, “We are friends, we are brothers. We discussed matters of mutual interest.”
