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Gorbachev Stumps in Siberia
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15983 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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7 / 1989 |
1,710 Words |
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Terry McNeill
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The Soviet Far East is the glaring blank spot on the golden Pacific arc. It possesses reserves of fossil fuels that could provide the basis of a range of industries, and if an energy-strapped Japan were to cooperate, Eastern Siberia could become a locomotive point in the Soviet economy. Plans for the development of a new energy complex in the Far East have long been urged. In 1982, scientists at the Novosibirsk Institute of Economics were warning that the output of the Urengoi and Tyumen complexes of Western Siberia was beginning to peak and urged that priority attention be given to the development of the Far East.
The development of the resources and industrial potential of the Far East using the technical assistance of the Pacific states, however, runs into a number of obvious political obstacles. Japan has traditionally been cool toward Soviet overtures for joint projects despite its pressing energy needs, because of unresolved conflicts relating to jurisdiction over the Kuriles. The weight of Soviet military presence in the region has a generally alienating effect, compounded by the previous occupation of Afghanistan and support for Vietnamese imperialism.
Characteristically, Gorbachev has sought to resolve the sticking points. In a major speech delivered in Vladivostok in July 1986, he set the process in motion. At the time the significance of his action was poorly understood. Commentaries on it emphasized the familiarity of his themes, albeit addressed with characteristic Gorbachevian vigor and verve, but with hindsight he can be seen to have broken fresh ground. It was then that he:
·Took the first steps toward disengagement from Afghanistan, indicated his willingness to pursue political settlements of regional conflicts, and started cutting Soviet regional troop deployments;
·Stated the USSR's wish to be accepted as a legitimate and cooperative member of the Pacific community, stressing his readiness to engage in responsible discussions on pressing issues of regional security;
·Adumbrated his ambitions for the Far Eastern zone and invited the participation of neighboring states;
·Stressed his desire for improved relations with the ASEAN countries; and
·Signaled his claim to a greater say in the determination of Asian/Pacific regional matters--"the USSR is also an Asian and Pacific country."
However, if Gorbachev hoped for some quick response to his overtures, he must have been disappointed. Certainly a trend toward improving relations with China (and with the ASEAN states) has begun, marked by a tripling of trade and increasing political contacts. But China is not a key economic player; Japan is, and as far as it was concerned Gorbachev had changed nothing. So it continued to parry overtures by returning to its unrequited territorial claims. And for the same reason its big industrial corporations persisted in ignoring the enticements of Siberia.
In September 1988, Gorbachev returned to the fray. In a series of major initiatives outlined in Krasnoyarsk (symbolically, another Siberian city) he proposed rewriting the terms of
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