Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has become the most heavily sanctioned country in the world. But few governments in Asia have cracked down on Moscow.
China has refused to openly condemn the invasion of Ukraine and has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos and Mongolia also abstained from voting on a United Nations resolution calling for an end to Russian military operations in Ukraine.
While western allies such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have imposed sanctions, and Tokyo and Seoul are blocking some Russian banks from the global Swift payments scheme, the impact is limited.
That’s because the Asian nations that have joined Western-led sanctions account for just 8% of Russia’s world trade.
“Without having the two Asian giants, China and India, on board with sanctions accounting for 18% of Russian trade, it is unlikely there will be any significant impact on Russia,” says Professor Syed Munir Khasru, Chair of the International Think Tanks Institute for politics, advocacy and governance.
And President Putin prepared in advance. Moscow has been targeted by Western sanctions since Russia annexed Crimea eight years ago.
“After 2014, Russia began to reduce reliance on US dollars as part of foreign exchange reserves and switched to gold and the Chinese yuan,” he adds.
For Beijing, it’s about weighing the benefits and costs of not taking action against Russia.
China is already Russia’s largest trading partner, and in the weeks leading up to the invasion, Beijing lifted restrictions on wheat imports and signed a 30-year deal to buy more Russian gas.
Meanwhile, more and more Russian companies and banks, including the oil division of Russian gas giant Gazprom, have started using the Chinese currency, the yuan, for settlements.
China has three goals, according to Bilahari Kausikan, Singapore’s former ambassador to the United Nations and Russia.
First, China is quite sensitive to certain principles of international relations, such as sovereignty, territorial integrity, and non-interference over Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a direct and gross violation of these norms, but there is a secondary objective. China has no other partner even close to the strategic weight of Russia,” says Mr. Kausikan.
They also share an unease with a Western-dominated international order, but Mr Kausikan adds that “China is investing a lot more in that order” and “the US, Europe and Japan are more important markets than Russia,” which is why Beijing is interested in the Stabilize the situation so as not to become collateral damage from Russian sanctions.
Russia is the largest arms supplier to India and Vietnam, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was in Moscow last month to hold talks with President Putin over a major gas pipeline deal.
“India has a very large inventory of Soviet-era weapons that it needs to remain operational,” says Mr. Kausikan. “And the reason he needs to keep them operational is China.”
Despite its strong ties with Russia, however, India is also part of the US-led quad with Japan and Australia, seen by many as an alliance against China’s growing presence in the region.
“Whose side is India on?”, tweeted the country’s former ambassador to Russia, Pankaj Saran. “We are on our side.”
This is how Asia’s actions against Russia can be seen in many ways.
Governments here are no stranger to choosing sides on trade disputes or human rights issues, but they have invariably been pragmatic when it comes to economic issues.
“One might have expected that India, the world’s largest democracy, would condemn the Russian invasion,” says Professor Munir.
“But nations are driven more by their own geopolitical and economic interests and less by principles or respect for international norms.”
And the UN vote condemning the invasion of Ukraine underscores divisions in the region.
North Korea was one of five countries – which unsurprisingly includes Russia – to vote against the resolution.
Myanmar voted to condemn Russia, but that can be attributed to its UN representative being part of its ousted government-in-exile. The country’s military junta, which came to power last year, has openly supported Russia, which has continued to supply arms to Yangon despite the coup.
Other smaller Asian economies sit between Russia, China and the West, according to Chong Ja Ian, associate professor at the NUS Institute of Political Science.
“In general, they avoid criticizing major powers like China and Russia, which they believe are likely to punish them,” says Associate Professor Chong.
“It is recognized that Russian aggression is egregious and also challenges the institution of sovereignty on which they depend, so they choose to remain silent as they do not wish to criticize Moscow, but neither do they support it,” he adds.
He points out that even among Western allies, “South Korea is more cautious, seeing the need to work with Russia on North Korean issues and also being wary of crossing China unnecessarily.”
What worries Asian governments, many of whom have territorial disputes with China, is that Beijing is closely watching what is happening in Ukraine to see what it can or cannot achieve in future disputes.
“Most Asian countries want a Chinese presence in the Indo-Pacific balanced by the United States,” says Manjari Chatterjee Miller, senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.
But she says India and many Southeast Asian countries want Russia to play a balancing role when it comes to China.
While this explains why some countries have chosen not to condemn Russia directly, the flip side is: what lessons could China learn from the Russian invasion?
“What would it mean for China if Russia could not be contained? What if the sanctions didn’t work?
It becomes difficult, she says, as oil prices soar, the invasion drags on, and atrocities escalate, how long onlookers can stay silent.
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