EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : Central Asian foreign policy multi-vectorism pays off

Source: The Hindu

Prelims: Current events of international importance, decolonisation, ASEAN, NATO, etc.
Mains GS Paper II: Bilateral, regional and global grouping and agreements involving India or affecting India’s interests.

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

China hosted what was called the “C+C5 summit”, in the city of Xi’an which saw the participation of the leaders of five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Context

India-Central Asia:

India’s relation with Central Asia has a long history.
The two regions have shared deep cultural linkages with each other over two millennia in terms of people to people contact, trade, and commerce.
The close trade and cultural linkages between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia can be traced to the Indus valley civilization, tapered after India’s partition in 1947.
Goods from India bound for the Central Asian region, instead of going through Pakistan and Afghanistan, would have to take much longer routes which usually involved the sea route to Iran and then overland through Iran, rendering New Delhi’s exports to the region less competitive.

Geo Strategic importance of Central Asia

Central Asia is strategically positioned as an access point between Europe and Asia and offers extensive potential for trade, investment, and growth.
Central Asia is not a part of India’s immediate neighborhood and therefore it doesn’t share borders with India, the issue of connectivity between the two regions becomes of paramount importance.

Geo economic Importance of Central Asia:

The region is richly endowed with natural resources like crude oil, natural gas, gold, copper, aluminum, and iron.

C+C5 summit:

The six countries jointly signed the ‘Xi’an Declaration’ and issued a blueprint for the future development of China-Central Asia relations.
The countries focused on the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road cooperation to be a ‘new starting point’.
In focus also were people-to-people exchanges, a ‘Cultural Silk Road’ programme, and issues of regional terrorism and extremism.
The China-Central Asia Summit mechanism was officially inaugurated, which paves the way for future biennial summits between these countries. The next summit will be held in Kazakhstan in 2025.

Impact:

Summit is testament to an ever-expanding Chinese influence in the region, which poses a challenge to Russia’s ambitions.
It partly reflects regional complexities and shifting dynamics.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace(2022) Russian President had held more than 50 meetings (both online and in person) with Central Asian leaders.
- All five Central Asian Presidents visited Moscow for the Victory Day parade:
  - It indicates that former Soviet republics intend to maintain balanced regional and international engagements.

Stand of Central Asian Countries:

Central Asian countries have been able to successfully implement a multi-vectored foreign policy that stretches beyond the Russia-China axis.
The summit implies stronger economic and political ties with other centers of power.
The European Council President’s visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: political signal of the EU’s commitment to the region and of the EU’s wish to strengthen ties and bolster interregional cooperation’.
- The EU also attended the first high-level meeting with the Central Asian leaders, which was held in Astana.

Foreign Policy:

Turkmenistan:

The basic parameter of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy since its independence in 1991 has been the country’s official status of ‘neutrality’.
Turkmenistan’s new President, his country ‘will continue the policy of neutrality based on good neighborliness, equality and mutually beneficial cooperation with all the countries of the world’.

Uzbekistan:

The main priority of its foreign policy is regional security in Central Asia, which includes the precarious environment in Afghanistan.
Other priority directions cover relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member-states, Russia, China, the United States, the European Union (EU), Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Kyrgyzstan:

Economic and security concerns have been the decisive factor in formulating the foreign policy strategies of Kyrgyzstan in the post-independence era.
After his election in 2021: Russia remains the main security partner for Bishkek, which hosts Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) troops at the Kant military airbase.
Multilateral engagement: Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, CSTO, and the Organization of Turkic States.

Tajikistan:

The foreign policy of Tajikistan is ‘open doors’ and a peace-seeking policy.
Readiness to build friendly relations with all countries and recognize shared interests based on reciprocal respect and equality’.

Way Forward

The foreign policy trajectories in Central Asia highlights their common characteristics, i.e., multi-vectorism.
The pragmatic approach certainly pays off, as it provides the benefits of maintaining friendly ties with multiple players, including Russia.
The Central Asian republics could serve as a relevant example for other post-Soviet countries, e.g Georgia and Moldova.
- Their long-term aspirations for EU/North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership should not be fulfilled at the expense of workable relations with Russia.
- This prospective membership would hardly guarantee absolute security due to the spread of unconventional warfare, which is more difficult to detect and counter.
Though Georgia and Moldova have legitimate reasons not to trust their neighbor, a multi-vectored foreign policy should be viewed as the only optimum solution for a lasting peace in the region.
- Anything short of this would perpetuate an unstable environment, with the constant threat of escalation and a greater sense of insecurity.