Around the middle of the last decade, the whole world was fascinated by the economic boom in Asia, a region that smashed every record in its triumphant march toward domination of world markets. Meanwhile, the late-90s economic crisis, which took a heavy toll on the Asian continent, seemed to toss the entire region into a shadow.
But this week, Russia again pointed to Asia’s strategic importance in the political, military and even economic sense, as it announced in its new foreign policy doctrine a plan to consolidate relationships with countries in the area, especially India and China.
Russia’s designs are obvious in the words of foreign minister Igor Ivanov: Moscow wants to create a “multi-polar” world to counteract the dominance of the United States, which has become the single genuine great power after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
After a continuous reshuffle in the last ten years following the collapse of the socialist camp it used to dominate, Russia, led by the unpredictable Vladimir Putin, seems ready once again to claim its rights as a great world power. And it cleverly plays the Asian card, which often turned out to be a losing bet for the Americans (remember Korea and Vietnam), and which seems to hold a tremendous potential in the century that is about to begin.
China and India, which enjoy all of Russia’s attention today, hold a huge potential, if only for their joint population of over 2 billion. In military terms, both are de facto nuclear powers. Politically, let’s not forget that Beijing holds a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, which it can always use along with Moscow’s to block decisions wanted by the West. And economically, China is momentously gaining pace, dominated by the famous concept “one country, two systems.” India is equally active, with serious success lately, especially in information technology.
Russia lost the “war” with the USA in Europe, but it is now trying to shift the power centre further into the East, toward Asia, probably thinking of a new space for another East-West confrontation. The battle will be waged on economic grounds, as the Cold War lesson may have taught Moscow that in today’s world, economic dominance comes before military dominance.
Kremlin’s course seems to be favoured by Russia’s traditionally warm relations with India and China (despite moments when Moscow and Beijing went through major diplomatic troubles), and by the American foreign policy in the area, which is stepping on many toes.
Moscow still has to tackle many problems, among them persuading the Chinese to join efforts to make the world “multi-polar,” given Beijing’s increasingly obvious tendency to affirm itself as a self-sufficient diplomatic power on the international stage.
In any case, this week highlighted Putin’s determination to reclaim for Russia at least part of its former glory, reminding that the Russians will never get over their longing for the great empire they once had.
And the “Asian ace” Moscow is pulling out clearly comes as a surprise in diplomacy these days: the Kremlin is attempting to overhaul the world order we have grown used to in the last years, where the United States is the director, playwright and main figure. It seems that Russia is determined to show once again that “the light comes from the East.”