Russia has won the backing of China and other members of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in criticising the US plan for a missile shield system. The bloc says the system could undermine global security.

The criticism came during the 10th summit of the organisation which was held in the Kazakh capital Astana this week.

Are members of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation lining up central Asian states for a NATO of the East? And what would that mean for global security?

Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses with guests: Richard Weitz, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC; Vyacheslav Matuzov, a former Russian diplomat and chairman of Russia's Society of Friendship and Business Cooperation with Arabic Countries in Moscow; and Alexandre Vautravers, an international relations professor at Webster University and editor of Swiss Military Review in Geneva.

This episode of Inside Story aired from June 17, 2011.