CHINA, RUSSIA, AND THE U.S.: THEIR INTERESTS, POSTURES, ND INTERRELATIONS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Abstract
They can be roughly divided into three aspects. Counter-terrorism is the primary interest of the United States in Central Asia at present.
The events of 9/11 in 2001 greatly changed the U.S.’s traditional security concept and its security strategy. The threat of international terrorism has become the U.S.’s most urgent security threat, and counterterrorism is the U.S.’s central strategic concern. Central Asia is in a suitable geographic location for dealing a blow to international terrorism. Counter-terrorism is a long-term undertaking and Central Asia has not lost its geographical and political significance in the U.S.’s pursuit of internation-al counterterrorism.
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References
Concluded from Central Asia and the Caucasus, No. 5 (29), 2004.
American companies which have joined energy projects in Kazakhstan include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petro-leum, Texaco, CaesarOil, IPI, OrixMcGee, AMHK (see: M.B. Olcott, Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, p. 299).
Andrew J. Bacevich , “Steppes to Empire,” The National Interests, Summer 2002, p. 40.
Ch. Fairbanks, “Being There,” The National Interest, Summer 2002, p. 39.
S.E. Cornell, R.A. Spector, “Central Asia: More than Islamic Extremists,” The Washington Quarterly, Winter 2002,p. 201.
Still, while recognizing Central Asia as an important region for the U.S., Mr. Strobe Talbott argued that the region was not of critical strategic importance to the U.S. (see: E.B. Rumer, “SShA i Tsentral’naia Azia posle 11 sentiabria,” Strategic Fo-rum, No. 195, December 2002, p. 3).
See: The Security of the Caspian Sea Region, SIPRI, Oxford University Press 2001, p. 137.
Ch.W. Maynes, “America Discovers Central Asia,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2003, p. 121.
A. Rar, “‘Bol’shaia igra’ na post-sovetskom prostranstve,” Nezavisimaia gazeta, 29 September, 2003.
Bates Gill and Matthew Oresman suggest that the U.S, China, and Russia could establish a range of low-level cooper-ation projects, including building and equipping border outposts; increasing military-to-military transparency in Central Asia;conducting de-mining operations in border areas; sharing intelligence on illegal cross-border activities; funding HIV/AID projects;and improving the social welfare infrastructure (see: B. Gill, M. Oresman, China’s New Journey to the West, A Report of the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, August 2003, p. 42).
In October, 2003 China and NATO implemented the first official contact in their history. It is an important symbol. It demonstrates that the door to dialog between China and NATO has been opened. In light of this, cooperation between China and NATO within the framework of PfP in Central Asia would be a proper start.
Ch. Fairbanks, op. cit., p. 48.
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