On Wednesday 11 June 2008, Dr Alexey D Muraviev (strategic affairs analyst, Curtin University of Technology) addressed members and guests of the Institute on “Russia's Strategic and Defence Policy in the Asia-Pacific”. Organised by IISS-Asia, the event took place at 9 Raffles Place, #53-02 Republic Plaza.
Synopsis:
During the Cold War, the Far East and the Pacific played highly significant roles in the Soviet Union’s strategic calculus. The prospect of an all-out war with the United States and its allies in the Pacific, a strategic stand-off with China from the 1960s to the 1980s, Soviet political engagement in the Asia-Pacific, among other factors indicated the importance of the region to the USSR. In the 1990s, with the improvement in relations with China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, the strategic importance for Moscow of the Far East declined relative to Russia’s main strategic concerns with the West and South. Nevertheless, in the early twenty-first century, we should expect a change in Russia’s strategic orientation, which will see the Asia-Pacific become a more important concern. There are growing concerns in Russia about the fragile regional geo-strategic landscape and fears of a major regional confrontation that may harm Russia’s security interests. The re-evaluation of the Far East’s strategic importance is already affecting Russia’s policy towards the region.
Dr Alexey D Muraviev is a strategic affairs analyst and Lecturer in International Relations and Strategic Studies in the School of Media, Society and Culture at Curtin University of Technology. He has over 30 publications on matters of national and international security, including two research monographs and a co-authored book, Red Star East. The Armed Forces of Russia in Asia.
[IISS-Asia is pleased to acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Department of Defence for this seminar series.]
