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http://interaffairs.ru
Author : V. Petrovsky
Chief Research Associate, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Full Member
of the RF Academy of Military Sciences, Doctor of Science (Political Sciences)
Russia and East Asia in the Context of the Ukrainian Crisis: "No"
to Sanctions, "Yes" to a New World Order
THE SYSTEM of international relations and the world order are
being "tested by Ukraine," the situation in which Russia's relations
with East Asia are not an exception but a confirmation of the
process and an illustration of it.
The closest allies of Washington in East Asia found it hard to stand
opposed to the Big Brother's pressure. In September 2014, Japan in-
troduced additional sanctions against Russia's financial sector. Sber-
bank, VTB Bank, Vnesheconombank, Gazprombank, and Russian
Agricultural Bank were in the fourth package of anti-Russian sanc-
tions; the process had started in spring 2014.
It should be said in all justice that Japan demonstrated more lenience
that the other G-7 members. From the very beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, it has been balancing
between its duty to side, to an extent, with G-7 and its desire to keep the relations with Russia alive.
While Japan introduced sanctions under pressure, South Korea, another close ally of the United
States in East Asia, was very open about its intentions: "South Korean Ambassador to Russia Wi
Sung-lac said that South Korea had no plans to follow America and Europe's lead in adopting sanc-
tions. Then, after the meeting with the U.S. official this week, a spokeswoman for South Korea's
Foreign Ministry reaffirmed it hasn't committed to sanctions."
This decision was logical in the context of the two countries' resolution to arrive at constructive
strategic partnership; Vladimir Putin's visit to Seoul in November 2013 was a big step toward this
goal.
Russia and Republic of Korea agree on international issues ranging from a peaceful settlement in
Syria to the UN stronger role on the international scene. Strategic partnership between Russia and
the Republic of Korea is becoming more and more obvious to the extent that South Korea refuses
to mar these prospects with anti-Russian sanctions.
The mutual sanctions of the West and Russia, an aftermath of the Ukrainian crisis, consolidated
Moscow's partner relationships with the BRICS countries which, in their turn, closed ranks on the
world arena.
There is a widely shared opinion in China that it should help Russia with its own experience of dis-
entangling from the Western sanctions introduced in the wake of the Tiananmen Square protests
of 1989 (the West, however, failed to isolate China from the rest of the world) and positive coop-
eration which will reduce the efficiency of the sanctions (the same happened in Iran).
The above should not create an illusion that Beijing will openly side with Russia on the Ukrainian
issue: the Chinese believe that this would have looked as indirect support of the separatist sentiments
in Tibet and the SUAR (this also explains why earlier China preferred not to recognize independence
of South Ossetia and Abkhazia). On the whole, China does not want to enter into a direct con-
frontation with the West because of Russia and Ukraine.
Russia and East Asia in the Context of the Ukrainian Crisis