Cooperation between Turkic states has intensified significantly in recent years. Established in 2009, the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, also known as the Turkic Council, was transformed into the Organization of Turkic States in 2021 to provide greater mutual support and solidarity in accordance with the needs of its members, National interest reported.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan are full members of the organization, while Hungary and Turkmenistan are observers (although Turkmenistan is set to join as a full member for the organization's November 2022 summit in Samarkand.

Shortly after the announcement of the transformation of the Turkic Council into the Organization of Turkic States, the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Global Times newspaper wrote that the change indicated that the organization has been politicized and developed into a political alliance with a tendency toward pan-Turkism.

This organization could provoke the rise of extreme nationalism, which could intensify ethnic conflicts and hit regional stability and security," the publication noted.  The commentary denied the Turkic ethnicity of Uyghurs living in northwest China and called on China to be vigilant in countering pan-Turkism and separatist forces trying to split China.

The idea of a Turkic union and even a Turkic association was widely supported in the early twentieth century, but due to the domination of Central Asia and the Caucasus by the Russian Empire, and then by the Soviet Union, this idea gradually faded in popularity. In the post-Cold War era, the idea was revived and prominent Turkic figures called for an even stronger Turkic alliance.

In December 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a parade in Baku and read a controversial poem supporting the idea of Azerbaijan's unification, causing a storm of indignation among Iranians and an outburst of diplomatic tension between Iran and Turkey. Shortly thereafter, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party, repeated the poem and made some important remarks.

Increased cooperation among Turkic states could have important strategic implications for all of Eurasia. It could facilitate trade between Asia and Europe and could play an important role in European energy security. In particular, after the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Middle Corridor or Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCIT) has attracted enormous attention as an alternative route for Europe's supply chains. But there is another important implication of the rise of Turkic cooperation, namely its potential role in the broader conflict with China.

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan could escalate into a larger war involving other countries. The United States, for its part, will seriously consider intervening in the conflict to prevent a takeover of Taiwan. Since 2021, President Joe Biden has stated several times that the United States would defend Taiwan should China launch an invasion of the island. Other countries, such as Japan and the Philippines, could also be drawn into the conflict. But in such a scenario, would China's western borders remain safe?

Among China's neighbors, no nation is likely to be more interested in taking over much of mainland China than the Turkic world, should widespread conflict erupt in the region. In China's Xinjiang region, or East Turkestan as the Uyghurs call it--which is larger in area than California, Texas, Illinois, and New York combined--a large Uyghur population lives under a system of harsh Chinese repression.

As cooperation among the Turkic states grows, their alliance is likely to include increased cooperation in military affairs and may even move toward the formation of a military alliance. Such a move would mean a much larger projection of Turkey and Azerbaijan, which have strong and combat-ready armed forces, into Central Asia across Chinese borders. A strong Turkic alliance could also help create a cooperative Altai arc around China, which would include Mongolia and possibly Japan and South Korea.