Russia in Global Affairs

The confrontation between China and the United States in the Asia-Pacific, primarily in countries neighboring China, will intensify in the coming years. To achieve its goals, the United States exploits the fears of China’s numerous neighbors about the growth of Chinese power, which, from the U.S.’s point of view, could in the new conditions lead China to try to restore its traditional medieval system of dominance over neighbors.

Russia will need to demonstrate clearly where New Delhi fits into the Russian grand strategy towards the East and how Moscow aims to implement its grand strategy towards the broader Asia-Pacific.

If we believe that the world is on its trajectory to become multi-polar and that this transition period may as well last for years or even decades, then at least we can start discussing about what the new rules might be to ensure our peaceful coexistence.

China’s current international discourse, based on a scientific approach and the assessment of changes taking place in the country, has an objective nature. The endogenous factor of the country’s strengthening in the economic, military, technological, and other areas has caused Beijing’s discourse to intensify.

It should be emphasized that Russia literally turned to arms after decades of other, peaceful attempts to correct (not destroy) the Western-led system and find a proper place there. It did not produce any meaningful response from the West, because the West was fully convinced that the existing scheme was fine for all. And those who thought differently were just wrong.

Today there are already calls (quietly so far) for a new Helsinki-style security conference. It is time, they say, to agree on new rules. The idea is obvious, but it does not seem realistic at the moment, because the treaty did not establish the status quo, rather it fixed it. 

China should understand that Washington’s end goal is to systemically curb Beijing’s very ability to exercise its sovereignty as it sees fit.

Although the Central Asian states seek a more visible role in the international arena and are characterized as independent actors of world politics, they have to sacrifice their independence in order to become middle powers because they lack the power and resources to do so on their own.

India traditionally sees Eurasia as an area of strategic and economic engagement where it can emerge as an attractive market for some of its prominent partners, focusing, in particular, on Central Asia, the INSTC, and the Russian Far East.