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Asia or in the Middle East. The Russian Far East is merely 200-300 years old, a trifle when
compared with the thousand year-long histories of its neighbors.
To my mind, it is very important to set up a "network," an organization which brings together
experts who have to think about these problems and never let the most important of them
out of sight. The inaugural meeting of ASEAN defense ministers which took place earlier
this year is an important event. We should take part in these processes.
I know that "soft power" and a positive image are not cheap: good results require serious
money. So far, we haven't got it.
Aleksander Vorontsov,
Head, Department of Korea and Mongolia, Institute of Oriental Studies,
Russian Academy of Sciences:
There is an impression in the Russian Far East that the Center is pursuing colonialist policy
there. The natural resources are exploited; the environment is polluted while Moscow gets
the money.
For the first time in its history, Vladivostok will acquire waste water treatment works, not
only bridges. Before that, all wastes were discharged into the ocean.
Viktor Sumsky,
Director, The ASEAN Center, Moscow State Institute (University) of International
Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation:
We all agree that we should not try to assume a special quasi-global role in Asia and should
trim our ambitions to fit our potential. This is true yet there is another argument: East Asia
is one of the most globalized regions of the world which means that we should not drop
the global dimension of our Asian policies and should preserve the global dimension of our
own image, otherwise we will fail. Our policies in Asia, and elsewhere in the world for that
matter, should be simultaneously realistic and global.
Talking about threats (whether real or imaginary) I should say that today there are no military
challenges comparable to those of the era of Soviet-American confrontation or Moscow-
Beijing discord. We should never forget, however, that there is an East Asian component of
the American MD system.
In fact, we should arrive at active and independent policies conducive to lower polarization
and conflict potential; it should promote cooperation and give the region a chance to go on
with its peaceful social-economic transformations. I think that we should arrange a niche in
the regional political expanse similar to that occupied by the Non-Aligned Movement in the
previous historic epoch. Besides Russia, it will prove attractive to many regional actors un-
willing to succumb to the choice between America and China imposed on them and unwilling
to witness the destructive results of their confrontation.
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