Until recently, Russia’s interests in the Asia-Pacific did not go beyond maintaining a status quo there, with a focus on the principle of ASEAN’s centrality and taking part in ASEAN events. Therefore, expanding political, economic and cultural ties with this association was a priority for Russia.
However, the conflict in Ukraine affected its presence in the Asia-Pacific in terms of both its goals and exposure. Targeted by a salvo of Western sanctions in 2022, Moscow hastily made an eastward policy U-turn by placing its bets on forging closer ties with Asian countries. Its trade with China surged, and Russia-India trade increased six-fold in a matter of two years. Japan with its harsh anti-Russia stance ceased to be Russia’s partner, becoming the only country from this region to impose sanctions across the board.
This turn to the East helped Russia reinforce its economic ties with Asian countries, which received access to cheaper oil. This also paved the way to a new global economic architecture in which Asian countries operate as intermediaries by ensuring that trade flows between Russia and the West do not dry up completely, while also filling in the niches vacated by Western suppliers on the Russian market. Both Russia and ASEAN stand to gain from this kind of cooperation.
