THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
official site

It is well known that the Asia Pacific Region is the most dynamically evolving component of the contemporary global economic and political system with colossal economic, financial, technological, resource and human potential. On the other hand, all problems, threats and challenges with which the world community is confronted manifest themselves in this complex and multi-faced region with special acuteness. Such was the case in the outgoing year 2008 as well.

The global financial crisis has adversely affected all countries in the APR. Spilling over into the real sector, it has led toward the year’s end to a cut in economic grow rates and the exacerbation of social problems.

Many countries of the region have again encountered the threat of terrorism. We are reminded of this by the recent Mumbai terrorist attack and by the increased activity of extremist forces in Afghanistan, where the production and contraband of narcotic drugs have reached a destabilizing level for its neighbors and serve as a source of terrorist financing.

The APR hotbeds of international tension represent a dangerous intertwining of latent local conflicts and the threat of WMD proliferation. This, for example, fully applies to the Korean Peninsula nuclear problem (KPNP). As before, the situation surrounding the Iranian Nuclear Program (INP) remains complicated.

Alas, problems darkening the life of the APR are not becoming fewer. The chronic challenges to stability and development are replenished by new ones: aggravated religious and ethnic contradictions, border disputes, sea piracy, and natural disasters. In the last year alone the region endured two destructive blows of the elements – earthquake in Sichuan Province, PRC, and Hurricane Nargis, which hit Myanmar.

The Asia Pacific Region is also contradictory from the point of view of the processes occurring inside it. An active formation of the bases of a new multipolar world order is clearly observable here; fast growth of global and regional “centers of power” is accompanied by the intensive development of economic integration and multilateral cooperation.

At the same time the legacy of the confrontational era is acutely felt in the AP region. Centripetal tendencies in regional development rub shoulders with attempts to base relations on a unipolar world concept and to bolster narrow-format, closed military alliances of Cold War vintage. This may lead to a weakening of mutual trust in the region and the consolidation of previous and emergence of new dividing lines.

Russia is an integral part of the APR. Over the past year we took a number of important steps, aimed at the further integration of our country into regional political and economic processes.

We built our work in the region with reliance upon our strategic partners – China, India, Vietnam, Mongolia – and new friends – Japan, the Republic of Korea and the ASEAN nations. Russian diplomacy also actively used multilateral structures of interaction: Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC); ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF); Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership; Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA); Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).

It is important to stress here that all of our Asian-Pacific neighbors support the integration of Russia into the APR, regarding our country as a factor of strategic stability and sustainable economic development in the region.

Of course, a lot has yet to be done to ensure Russia’s “rooting” into the APR so that our Siberia and Far East become really involved in the economy of this fast developing and highly promising region. This is needed, above all, for the social and economic upswing of the eastern areas of Russia, for improving the quality of life for the local population and for raising the attractiveness of this part of our country to its citizens.

Russian bilateral relations with the APR countries received a new substantial boost in 2008. President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev held more than 20 meetings with heads of state of the region. The Russian President’s state visits to China and India took place. Relations with these countries reached a qualitatively new level. Leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia visited our country. Russian trade with the Asian countries topped 120 billion dollars.

The dynamic ongoing development of Russian-Chinese strategic partnership continued. Five meetings between the Heads of State of Russia and the PRC took place. There were approved the Joint Declaration on Major International Issues and the Action Plan to Implement the Treaty on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation 2009-2012.

Our relations were characterized by active foreign policy interaction and by mutual support on the most important issues affecting the interests of the two states. The mechanism of Russian-Chinese consultations on strategic security issues played an ever weightier role.

It is expected that bilateral trade will exceed 50 billion dollars by the year’s end. Work to rectify the “raw materials tilt” of Russian exports, augment investments and expand interregional cooperation was simultaneously conducted. Moscow and Beijing agreed on a comprehensive approach to long-term oil supplies from Russia to China and on the construction of a branch line to China from the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline system.

The entry into force in October of the Additional Protocol-Description of the Eastern Section of the Russian-Chinese Border put a seal of finality to the settlement of the border question between our countries.

Naturally our relations with China are not free of problems. But they are only “growth problems” which arise and, most important, are tackled in the course of the development and expansion of mutual cooperation.

One of the priority thrust areas of Russian foreign policy is the development of friendly relations with India, which over the last decade have acquired the character of a real strategic partnership. A Joint Declaration and an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Atomic Energy were signed at the end of President Medvedev’s visit to India (Russian-Indian summits are now held annually).

Bilateral trade has been growing at a stable pace. In 2008 its volume will top 7 billion dollars. The dynamics are generally not bad. This instills confidence that by 2010 the countries will fulfill the task set by their leaders of taking bilateral trade to the 10 billion dollars mark so that the scale of economic and trade cooperation better matches the high level of political relations. Further considerable reserves exist here.

Of particular significance for bilateral relations in 2008 was the Year of Russia held in India, comprising about 150 major events. Preparations are currently under way for the Year of India in Russia, whose official opening is slated for February 2009.

The strategic partnership between Russia and China and between Russia and India is successfully converted into the development of trilateral interaction in the Russia-India-China (RIC) format. This format has a great future: the three countries have a mighty aggregate potential and share a common approach to the fundamental problems of our time. The eighth meeting of the RIC foreign ministers held in May 2008 in Yekaterinburg demonstrated the growing keenness shown in Moscow, New Delhi and Beijing on further strengthening cooperation within the troika framework, on coordinating their actions on the international stage and on establishing practical cooperation.

Russian-Japanese relations received their further development on the basis of the 2003 Action Plan. There were intensive contacts at the highest level: the leaders of the two countries met three times – in Moscow in April, during the G8 summit in Toyako in July and during the APEC summit in Lima in November, where, by the way, the first acquaintance with the new Japanese Prime Minister, Taro Aso, took place. There was stressed on both sides the importance of Russian-Japanese relations for Asian-Pacific stability along with reaffirming the objective of bringing them to a qualitatively new level.

2008 notched another record growth of economic and trade ties with Japan – the goods turnover reached 30 billion dollars. Leading Japanese corporations came to the Russian investment market.

The sides continued to look for a mutually acceptable solution to the problem of a peace treaty. But, regrettably, there were also attempts to “play” on the unsettled nature of the issue of territorial demarcation between Russia and Japan with a view to impeding the successful development of bilateral relations. Our diplomacy reacted to those attempts promptly and adequately.

Russia pursued an active line aimed at strengthening ties and developing all-round cooperation with the two Korean states: the DPRK and the Republic of Korea. The potential of good-neighborly relations with the DPRK was built up. The juridical base of bilateral interaction was strengthened, and a bilateral political dialogue and diverse contacts at all levels were maintained.

The year’s key event in relations with the Republic of Korea was the visit to Russia of President Lee Myung-bak, during which agreement was reached to take relations between our countries to the level of strategic partnership. Bilateral trade continued to grow, exceeding 20 billion US dollars at the year’s end. South Korean business participation in investment projects on Russian soil intensified and widened. Close cooperation is established in the peaceful uses of outer space and in other high technology industries.

Simultaneously Russia exerted efforts to solve the tasks associated with the maintenance of peace, security and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and actively participated in the six-party talks to resolve KPNP. The aim which the Russian side regards as of paramount importance is to achieve a verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by peaceful means and secure the DPRK’s earliest possible return to the NPT and IAEA as a non-nuclear weapon state.

For Russian-Vietnamese relations the year 2008 was marked by an important rethinking of our common past and present and the construction of extensive plans for the future. We rediscovered in each other partners bound not by any momentary conjunctural interests, but by true friendship and trust which were tested by not easy ordeals that befell our peoples. This gave a new impetus to developing our strategic partnership, which the outcome of the visit to Russia of SRV President Nguyen Minh Triet demonstrated. Important long-term agreements for economic cooperation were reached, primarily in the energy and investment sectors, as well as in the realm of humanitarian ties.

We are satisfied with the way Russia’s traditional ties evolved with the states of Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and other countries.

The strategic partnership with Mongolia continued to be filled with tangible political and practical content. There intensively developed our economic, primarily cross-border ties, and investment interaction; the traditionally close humanitarian cooperation was being restored.

Russia’s many-sided relations with Iran retained their autonomous value and were not subjected to fluctuations as a result of changes in the political “weather.” A disposition towards deepening bilateral cooperation was reaffirmed at the meeting of the presidents of the two countries in August in Dushanbe on the sidelines of the SCO summit. The constructive political interaction stimulated the development of trade and economic ties with emphasis on cooperation in the fuel and energy field, including the sphere of the peaceful atom. Iran’s first nuclear power plant is being built at Bushehr with our aid in full conformity with the nonproliferation obligations of the two countries.

We constructed work with Iran on the INP in the six-nation format by acting on the belief that the situation can be resolved solely by politico-diplomatic methods. In this vein Russia together with the partners tried to find solutions which, on the one hand, would ensure Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, and on the other – would remove all the concerns about the aim of its nuclear program

By and large Russian-Pakistani relations developed in an ongoing manner. The bilateral dialogue maintained between the foreign affairs agencies merits a positive appraisal, as does constructive cooperation on different international platforms, the SCO format included, where Pakistan has observer status.

Unfortunately, the Mumbai terrorist attacks have seriously aggravated relations between Pakistan and India. It is obvious that their common enemy – international terrorism – aims to pit these two neighboring countries against each other and destabilize the situation in South Asia. In this situation negotiations arriving at an intensified joint fight against terrorism and the liquidation of its hotbeds are the only true method for resolving bilateral problems between Islamabad and New Delhi. The Russian Federation stands ready to provide all necessary assistance to India and Pakistan.

Afghanistan, from whose territory a terrorist and a narcotic threat continue to emanate, remained one of the most important and sensitive areas of Russian foreign policy. Taking this into account, our country assisted Afghanistan with the training of personnel in the field of combating illicit drug trafficking. The opening in Kabul of an office of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service helped intensify a trustful dialogue with Afghanistan on antinarcotics issues. Despite the complicated military-political conditions, Russian companies participated in the restoration of the Afghan energy industry. Humanitarian and financial aid was provided to the government of Afghanistan.

In the past year Russia strove to widen its circle of friends in the region and find new “niches” for cooperation. It seems to us that good prospects are opening up in the development of political dialogue and of economic and trade cooperation with Australia and New Zealand.

It is no secret that in the APR, where serious threats to security and stability exist, a comprehensive system of regional security, resting on a firm international legal basis, regrettably, is absent to this day. That is why in the elapsed year – as, by the way, in the previous period – Russian diplomacy attached great importance to strengthening the principles of multilaterality and international law in the structure of interstate relations in the APR.

Russia advocated the creation in the APR of an open, transparent and equal security system which would rest on collective principles, the norms of international law and consideration of the interests of all states of the region. We presume that security in the APR is indivisible, and that attempts to ensure one’s own security at the expense of the security of others are not only futile, but also dangerous.

In this connection the intention to bring a new factor of military destabilization in the APR cannot but evoke our serious concern. At issue is the deployment of land- and sea-based missile defense systems. In the long term this is fraught with upsetting the strategic balance in the APR. Apparently it is advisable to endeavor to avoid this extremely unfavorable turn in the military-political situation in the region.

In an address on November 5, 2008, to members of the political, academic and public circles of Japan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov invited all APR countries to a broad and frank discussion on the future of our region, on the ideas and mechanisms which could ensure real security along the lines of effective multilateral interaction. We are open for such discourse.

The outgoing year was marked by a “tectonic shift” in the realization by the world community of the inadequacy of the global financial system that had formed by the start of the twenty-first century and in the understanding of the necessity of devising new principles and mechanisms of cooperation matching the realities of the multipolar world. Unfortunately, a “shock” in the form of a world financial crisis was needed for that.

At the same time, the crisis was conducive to intensification of the process of economic integration in the APR, including reinvigoration of interaction among the countries of Asia in financial questions. The idea of establishing an Asian Monetary Fund, long nurtured in the region, is materializing and a discussion has begun on the questions of the regulation of financial markets, creation of an early warning system on financial and economic crises, the issue of Asian bonds and the expansion of the spectrum of reserve currencies. These and other ideas for improving the world and regional financial architecture are consonant with the proposals that were advanced by President Medvedev at the G20 summit in November 2008 in Washington.

Russia continued to build up its efforts to consolidate the SCO, which is now becoming an ever weightier element of the contemporary regional and international architecture of security and development. The themes of counteracting terrorism, extremism and transfrontier crime are firmly established in its agenda.

An important step in this sector was the signing at the SCO Dushanbe Summit in August 2008 of the agreements on fighting the illicit arms trade and on conducting antiterrorist training exercises. By decision of the leaders of the member states of the Organization, it is planned to convene a special conference on Afghanistan in 2009 under the aegis of the SCO. We hope that it will enable in a broad circle of interested parties to outline ways of interaction against the terrorist and narcotic threats, which pose a threat to everyone.

The SCO is an open organization striving to broaden its international ties. An additional impulse to these endeavors was given by the adoption in Dushanbe of the Regulations on the Status of Dialogue Partner. Applications for obtaining that status are already beginning to come in.

Russia took over the SCO chairmanship in 2008-2009. The priorities of our chairmanship are: to raise the effectiveness of cooperation, to develop the juridical base, to maintain security and stability in the region, and to deepen economic and humanitarian cooperation. The plan of the chairmanship, incorporating more than a hundred events and activities, is being successfully realized. A session of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member states, slated for June 2009 in the “heart of Eurasia” – Yekaterinburg – will mark its culmination.

Russia attaches great importance to its work in the APEC forum, which makes a substantial contribution to the development of trade and investment interaction and the maintenance of peace and stability in the APR. The work carried out by us during the year in specialized APEC bodies resulted in the approval at the APEC summit (Lima, November 2008) of the proposals for further developing Russia’s initiative for the counterterrorism protection of critically important energy infrastructure. The activities of the APEC Special Task Group on Mining and Metallurgy under Russia’s chairmanship were given a positive appraisal.

A Memorandum was signed on the fringes of the summit, by which Russia in 2009-2010 will make a $500000 target contribution to the APEC Support Fund. The money will go for the realization of projects in the fields of anti-terror, disaster relief and the introduction of advanced technologies.

The outcomes of Lima have strengthened our positions in APEC, which is particularly important in the light of Russia’s upcoming APEC chairmanship in 2012 and the holding of an APEC summit in Vladivostok.

As the chairman of the respective Working Group in the framework of the six-party talks on KPNP Russia elaborated the Draft Guiding Principles on Peace and Security in Northeast Asia. The Russian initiative drew a favorable response from our partners in the talks. The discussion of the draft is planned to be continued in February 2009 in Moscow.

Russia consistently strengthened its positions in the ARF. In our opinion, this structure is today the key element in the system of dialogue and cooperation in the APR. Our input into the work of the ARF is highly appreciated by the partners. Thus, at the last ARF session in Singapore Russia came up with the initiative to assume the functions of a co-chair of the ARF Intersessional Meeting on Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime in 2010, which was unanimously backed up.

Growth of positive dynamics marked the development of the Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership in the outgoing year. The priorities of our cooperation were the fight against terrorism and transnational crime, and interaction in the fields of energy and energy security, environment protection, science and high technologies, disaster relief, tourism and culture. Regrettably, the weakness of the economic component of cooperation with the ten ASEAN countries still makes itself felt and hence Russian diplomacy intends to work actively to strengthen this Dialogue Partnership line, as prescribed by the “roadmap” for implementing the Russia-ASEAN Comprehensive Program of Action to 2015, approved at the ministerial meeting in July 2008 in Singapore.

Our keen participation in dialogue forums – the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) – in the development of inter-parliamentary ties – under the auspices of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Forum (AIPA) and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) – and in the work of the Asian Track 1.5 and Track 2, incorporating members of business and academic circles, brings about positive results.

As part of the line on active participation in multilateral structures in the APR, work was continued to promote the applications for Russia’s participation in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), East Asia Summits (EAS) mechanism and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Russia is entering 2009 with a firm intention to continue to pursue an open and predictable, active and pragmatic foreign policy in the Asia Pacific sector and comes up with a time-tested course and an effective program of action. The objectives of Russia are utterly clear – to develop friendly relations and mutually advantageous cooperation with the countries of the APR, primarily with our strategic partners; take an active part in integration processes; show initiative within multilateral regional structures, and participate in collective efforts to form a reliable APR-wide security and cooperation architecture. The accomplishment of these objectives, which will make for the sustainable internal development of Russia for the good of its citizens, is provided for in the renewed Russian Federation Foreign Policy Concept, approved by the President of Russia on July 12, 2008.