Although the relations between Russia and Asia-Pacific countries were hampered after the demise of the Soviet Union (USSR), Moscow’s present desperation to re-establish the relations is very much visible from Russia’s growing sale of weapons and other advanced military technology to a number of Asia-Pacific countries. This is what Yead Mirza wrote in an article published on the Oped Column.
Citing a number of instances of growing engagement between Russia and other Asia-Pacific countries as well as a major Russian military drill near the Pacific, Yead Mirza further argued that these developments clearly reflect Russia’s geopolitical presence in the region is growing and that Russia is about to become a potent power in the Asia-Pacific.
In another article on the Journal of International Affairs, Bahauddin Foizee wrote that Russia’s arms exports to South and Southeast Asia amounts to over 60% of Russia’s total arms exports, making Russia the largest arms exporter in the entire Asia-Pacific region.
This information adds more weight to what Yead Mirza argued about Russia’s growing clout in the region.
Russia is also engaging in military provocations in the Asia-Pacific region with China’s support. Citing a number of Chinese-Russian joint military provocations, Bahauddin Foizee argued in the aforesaid article that the China-Russia duo is actually trying to compel other Asia-Pacific countries to accept the mobility of their militaries – even in disputed waters or in air spaces – as the new-normal in the region.
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