Pepe Escobar: Russia, China, ASEAN Weave Their Eastern Magic

(Sputnik) -- Something quite extraordinary happened at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok last week – very much in tune with the forum’s main theme: “Far Eastern 2030. Combining Strengths to Create New Potential.”
The stage was shared by President Putin; Vice-President of China Han Zheng; and Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim.

That translates as Russia-China-ASEAN: a key interlocking partnership, constantly being strengthened, on the road to explore all the potential towards a new, equitable, fair, multi-nodal (italics mine) world.
In his address, President Putin focused on what is arguably the most ambitious national development project of the 21st century: the Russian Conquest of the East – a mirror image of the Chinese Conquest of the West that started in earnest in 1999, via the “Go West” campaign.
Putin detailed how the Russian Far East is fast developing, with more than 3,500 techno-industrial projects. He expanded on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) – the Chinese call it the Arctic Silk Road – with building of new nuclear icebreakers and the development of the port of Murmansk included. The NSR’s turnover, Putin remarked, is already a record five times bigger, and counting, when compared to the USSR times.
All the numbers concerning the Far East and the Arctic are staggering. The Far East is a strategic macro-region occupying no less than 41 percent of the territory of the Russian Federation. The Arctic, an immense natural resource treasure, linked to the NSR potential, occupies 28 percent - accounting for 17 percent of Russian oil production, 83 percent of gas production and holding immense deposits of gold, coal, nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metals and diamonds.
So it’s no wonder the recurrent Western colonialist dream of attacking, dismembering and plundering Russia – whose latest iteration is the obsession on inflicting a “strategic defeat” of Russia in Ukraine - is directly linked to grabbing and exploiting the infinite wealth of the Far East/Arctic.
Putin once again described how the two regions are “the future of Russia” – and a federal priority for the entire 21st century: in fact, a matter of national security. Investment growth in starting capital is already up by 20 percent - twice the Russian average; and each ruble of state funding is matched by 34 rubles of private investment. Key industries include energy, petrochemicals, mining, timber, logistics, aircraft/machinery/shipbuilding, agriculture and fisheries.
Anwar: “Where is the Humanity?”
Malaysia’s Anwar, a first-class orator, expanded on ASEAN as a crossroads of Asia-Pacific and weaved an elegant analysis of soft power, complete with Russian literature (it’s his first time on Russian soil), stressing contributions at the “very fabric of human history and thought” and how Russia is “pointing the boundaries of possibility”.
In parallel he praised the rise of the Global South (40 percent of global GDP, over 85 percent of the population); the appeal of BRICS (Malaysia officially applied to join BRICS+); and how Russia should be attracting increasing “investment from Muslim-majority nations.” Playing on his culturally vibrant land, he reiterated, with a smile, the national motto: “Malaysia, truly Asia”.
Anwar particularly struck a nerve with the business/technocrat audience while commenting on the Gaza tragedy. He said that he always asks his colleagues, “even in the West”, where is “the humanity”; how do they dare to “speak of justice”; and how do they dare to predicate “human rights and democracy.”
Vice President Han Zheng stressed recent high-level meetings in Beijing and Astana strengthening the Russia-China strategic partnership; the increasing trade turnover; China’s status as the leading trade partner and investor in the Russian Far East; the drive to modernise trans-border structures; and President Xi’s Global Security Initiative – which is like a sort of more ambitious version of the Russian concept of Greater Eurasian Partnership.

(Latest Update September 11, 2024)