Russia-US relations are strained by well-known differences: Ukraine, Syria, arms control issues, perceived Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election, and the long-held Russian standpoint that the West, especially the US has been meddling not only in Russia’s domestic affairs but also in the former Soviet republics, its perceived sphere of influence.

However, this troubling aspect of international relations has not had any discernible impact thus far on ASEAN and its relationship with both major powers. Russia does not appear to seek to challenge the US in ASEAN, unlike in the Ukraine or Syria, judging by the words of the Russian Ambassador to Singapore, Andrei Tatarinov. This was the message that came across from his presentation at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), on 28 September 2017.

…Christopher Cheang is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Click here to view the full article