Introduction
Although there is much speculation on the nature of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership, most Western scholars view the Sino-Russian strategic partnership as limited, fragile, easily fractured, and not a formal alliance. There was always an assumption that Moscow and Beijing knew what the partnership was even if the outside world did not. This paper is a case study of how Beijing and Moscow failed to agree on the partnership’s identity and purpose during the 2012-2013 Diaoyu/Senkaku...
The cancellation of Obama’s visit to Moscow made compellingly clear what previously many have suspected: the current presidents of the United States and Russia are in a state of conflict. Perhaps the problem is the two men’s individual psychological incompatibility – this sometimes happens between politicians. However, in this particular case much more fundamental differences may be playing out. And here I am not referring to the divergences in national interests of Russia and the...
Long accustomed to a seat on the sidelines of East Asian affairs, Russia now finds itself sought after as an energy and military partner, particularly by Vietnam, but increasingly by a wider range of states in Southeast Asia. Russia’s growing relations with Southeast Asian states, especially in energy and defense, and the development of an alternative northern shipping route to the Malacca Straits are changing perceptions of Russia’s potential role in the region, as Southeast Asian states...
Russia, Southeast Asia and ASEAN
Asia Pacific was in focus for Russia when it chaired APEC in 2012. However, it did not necessarily turn Russia’s attention to the region, including Southeast Asia. Domestic factors within Russia play an important role in determining Russian foreign policy; its policies towards Southeast Asia and in particular towards ASEAN are no exception. Historical, cultural, geographical, economic and idiosyncratic factors have played significant influence. Thus Russian...
Owing to political problems arising from Russian company TNK-BP’s ownership of the Kovykta gas field in Eastern Siberia, Moscow decided to prioritise the development of Chayandagas and the surrounding four major gas fields in the Sakha Republic. These were all allocated to Russian company Gazprom, and even though the 1.7 trillion cubic metres (tcm) of reserves in these fields is not as big as Kovykta’s 2.0 tcm, Chayandagas alone is plentiful enough to spur Gazprom to pursue a 30 billion...
Globalization and geopolitics are the two defining features of contemporary international relations. Yet there exists a fundamental tension between these two processes - one refers to a deepening and broadening flow of trade, goods, people, and information; the other to exclusive political and military control over space. These competing characteristics of global politics are coming into particularly sharp focus in the Asia-Pacific, especially in the case of the South China Sea.
Today, around half...
