Senators and experts discussed prospects for cooperation with the Asia-Pacific countries.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin held a roundtable discussion, The Asia-Pacific policy of the Russian Federation: New challenges and prospects for cooperation.
The senator noted that the Asia-Pacific region is a fast-growing centre of the global economy and politics marked by high levels of interdependence and an intricate configuration of interests among different countries. “The Asia-Pacific region is a key priority in our country’s foreign policy due to its economic and geopolitical potential,” Grigory Karasin said.
According to him, the Asia-Pacific region needs a modern and reliable architecture of equal and indivisible security to ensure the region’s dynamic growth and to effectively counter existing challenges.
The senator emphasised concern over the West’s active policy seeking to erode, re-cast and replace ASEAN-centred architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, which could lead to devastating consequences.
The senator stated that despite headwinds coming from the collective West, anti-Russian sanctions, pressure exerted on Russia’s partners, and attempts to weaken its influence in the Asia-Pacific region, the demand for expanding cooperation remains high.
Throughout history, Russia has been tightly linked with many countries in the region and is rightfully regarded in Asia as an important factor of military-political stability and sustainable development, Grigory Karasin said. “Our strategic partners in the Asia-Pacific region include China, India, North Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia, which are interested in continuing close and multifaceted cooperation with our country.”
The senator went on to say that Russia holds strong positions in multilateral regional and transregional groups such as BRICS, the SCO, the ASEAN Regional Forum on Security, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, and the Russia-India-China trilateral format. According to him, implementing the Russian President’s initiative to form a Greater Eurasian Partnership, which is an economic and civilisational project capable of bringing together the geoeconomic centres of the continent, is particularly important. “The presidential initiative is a forward-looking megaproject which, over time, will make it possible to respond to the objectively existing integrative trends in the region. The fact that this initiative is extremely flexible and does not provide for creating rigid organisational structures or formats limiting the multi-trajectory nature of foreign and economic policies of Eurasian states is among its advantages.”
With account taken of the broad scope for convergence of the mutual interests of the countries in the region, the senator noted the importance of promoting ties between parliaments in the Asia-Pacific region. “Promoting the entire range of relations with the parliaments of friendly Asian states, both on a bilateral basis and within such associations as the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly is an endeavour of key importance.”
It is widely believed that the 21st century, let alone the 22nd, will be the century of Asia, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said. He delivered the keynote address. “The projects being implemented here, as well as the entire regional agenda, are acquiring a global dimension.” At the same time, the deputy minister noted that in an effort to preserve its influence in this part of the world, the West was concentrating sizable military resources in Asia in an attempt to reshape the system of multilateral cooperation to suit itself and to create a ramified network of interconnected bloc mechanisms.
“We counter this policy with a constructive cooperation agenda. We propose that regional partners team up to form a common Eurasian space of mutually beneficial cooperation,” Andrei Rudenko said.
A discussion was held with the participation of senators and experts following which recommendations to federal executive authorities will be drafted, Grigory Karasin said.
The event was attended by First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrei Denisov, deputy chairs of the committee Bair Zhamsuyev and Natalya Nikonorova, and member of the committee Anna Otke.