ASSESSMENTS

For Russia and China, Cooperation Is the Name of the Game in Central Asia

Mar 9, 2018 | 17:06 GMT

Russia and China are both active in Central Asia's security, conducting joint military and counterterrorism exercises with regional militaries through security blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

(VYACHESLAV OSELEDKA/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • When it comes to tackling security issues in Central Asia, Russia and China will cooperate more than compete.
  • The two countries will ramp up joint military exercises, counterterrorism training and diplomatic consultations in the region through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
  • As China expands its economic ties in Central Asia, its security presence will probably grow accordingly, potentially upsetting the current balance between Moscow and Beijing.

For centuries, Central Asia has been a battleground for outside powers such as the Persians and the Mongols or czarist Russia and the British Empire. The region, a major transit hub since the days of the Silk Road, became all the more appealing to foreign states after the discovery of significant oil, natural gas and mineral deposits there. In the quarter-century since the Soviet Union's collapse, Central Asia's security has become a paramount concern, attracting the attention of two neighboring giants, Russia and China. But although their spheres of influence overlap in the region, the story of Moscow and Beijing's engagement in Central Asia has so far been one of collaboration, rather than competition -- at least where security is concerned. ...

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