52. Russia’s Engagement in the Indo-Pacific (PART I)

Source: EuroNews

India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to make Indo Pacific more “open, free and inclusive”. This comes in the backdrop of a rising China, who is trying to expand its military presence in the region, and claims almost all of the South China Sea. India specifically wants to maintain a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. There are also talks about the QUAD coalition to counter Chinese influence in the region. This refers to a strategy by India, the US, Australia, and Japan. All of these developments have made the region strategically important in the 21st century.

In such an international scenario, it is important to examine Russia’s interest in the region. When Narendra Modi addressed the plenary session of the 5th Eastern Economic Forum earlier this year, he said that the port city of “Vladivostok” will become the springboard of the northeast Asia market in India. This points to India’s attempts to strengthen maritime cooperation with Russia in the Indo-Pacific. Moscow, too, has been preoccupied with relationship building across the Indo-Pacific. Yet, Russia does not have a clearly articulated policy for the Indo-pacific.

To begin with, the idea of replacing the geopolitical construct of “Asia Pacific” with Indo Pacific has not been received well by Russia. Moscow believes the term Indo-Pacific is, in fact, an American Strategy. Russia seems to be having a different geostrategic outlook and China plays an important role in Russia’s policies in the region. China continues to be a critical partner for Russia. Hence, Moscow has raised concerns about QUAD, which it believes supports the interests of the US. Russia’s objection to the QUAD is driven by Chinese concerns, and for the Russians, QUAD is essentially an anti-Chinese- concept.

At the same time, economic ambitions drive Moscow’s engagement in the region. As a major supplier of world energy, Russia is positioning itself as the energy superpower in the Indo-Pacific. The Russian government has thus aimed to upgrade its maritime infrastructure.

(To be continued)