From the New York Times at eKathimerini.com, March 4:
Much of the world has united against Russia in the aftermath of its incursion into Ukraine. Envoys have walked out of meetings rather than listen to a top Russian diplomat speak. Western nations have been in near lock step on international sanctions. Bartenders are banning Russian vodka.
In Asia, the reaction has been far more mixed.
Generals in Myanmar have called Russia’s actions “the right thing to do.” India abstained from a U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn the attack. China has refused to call the assault on Ukraine an invasion. And in Vietnam, President Vladimir Putin of Russia is being affectionately referred to as “Uncle Putin.”
While most U.S. allies in the region have fallen in line, authoritarian governments and those with weaker ties to the West have been more reluctant to act on the conflict in Ukraine. Across the Asia-Pacific, only Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Australia have agreed to international sanctions against Moscow. Taiwan, the self-governed territory that China claims as its own, has also agreed to sanctions and voiced support for Ukraine.
The uneven response is unlikely to counterbalance the onslaught of Western anger, but it could test the limits of President Joe Biden’s pledge to make Putin a “pariah on the international stage.”
Russia’s influence in Asia is minimal compared with that of the United States, although it has grown in recent years, with a particular focus on arms sales. Already, the economic ministry in Moscow announced Friday that it would seek to expand economic and trade ties with Asia to help offset Western sanctions.
“I don’t think we will shun Russia,” said Bilahari Kausikan, Singapore’s former ambassador to Russia. “It is still a big country and is a nuclear weapons state.”
It is also a permanent member of the Security Council, a status that is unlikely to change, Kausikan said.
Russia has sold fighter jets to Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, but its biggest customer in Southeast Asia is Vietnam. From 2000 to 2019, 84% of Vietnam’s weapons imports came from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In its bid to counter China, Vietnam has bought billions of dollars worth of Russian artillery, aircraft and submarines, transforming its military into one of Southeast Asia’s most capable fighting forces while making itself dependent on Moscow for years to come.
In India, Moscow has been seen as a reliable military partner for decades. New Delhi is the world’s second-largest importer of Russian arms, which account for about half of its military supplies. When Putin visited New Delhi late last year, Russia detailed the sale of a $5.4 billion missile defense system to the country....
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