16:52
2002-03-26
WHAT DO RUSSIA AND VIETNAM WANT FROM
EACH OTHER?
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov continues his
tour of Asian countries. After visiting Mongolia, he set off for
Vietnam on March 26. Both states used to be Moscow’s close
allies in the Soviet era. Mongolia was even called “the
sixteenth Soviet republic." When Leonid Brezhnev was at the
head of the Soviet government, a project for addition of Mongolia
to the Soviet Union was developed. The project was about to be
implemented, but at the very last moment, it was decided to give
it up.
The Soviet Union managed to establish close contacts with Vietnam
during the war between the South Asian state and the USA. Soviet
weapons helped Vietnam acheive victory. When the war was over, the
relations between the two states were still close.
After the breakup of the USSR, political and economic relations
with Vietnam and Mongolia have practically come to naught. As a
result, the economies of both states, which were very dependent on
the Soviet Union, faced a severe crisis. They had to start reforms
in the economic sphere, and, first of all, they had to re-oriented
themselves towards commercial partners from other countries.
Russia and these two Asian states have increased their contacts
within two last years. Last year’s visits of President Vladimir
Putin to Mongolia and Vietnam have considerably contributed to
these new relations. Russia wrote off a great part of Mongolian
and Vietnamese debts to the USSR, which is said to be the main
result of the visits. Vietnam’s debt to the Soviet Union made up
$11 billion, and the majority of it was written off during
Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country. In fact, Hanoi will have
to pay only a quarter of the sum in the next twenty years. The
majority of the payments will be done in consumer goods.
Until recently, the Soviet Union, and later Russia, have been
renting Vietnam’s Navy base in Cam Ranh. However, the base has
been practically idle over the last ten years. Finally, the lease
was surrendered in October of 2001. The lack of financing for the
base management was mentioned as the main reason to give it up. At
once, information appeared that the base may be held on lease by
the USA. Vietnamese authorities rejected the idea at once and said
the base would not be given on lease at all.
No official date for withdrawal of the Russian staff from the base
in Cam Ranh had been announced before Mikhail Kasyanov’s visit
to Vietnam. On the visit’s eve, head of the Russian Navy central
headquarters Admiral Viktor Kravchenko said that Russia would hand
the base over to Vietnam by July 1, 2002.
Russian arms supplies to Vietnam are another important subject to
be discussed during the coming talks. Russian politicians always
touch upon the subject during their visits to the Asian countries.
It is quite natural, as the Asiatic market is the most attractive
for Russia. One more question arises here: how is Vietnam going to
pay for the arms supplies? Several ways can be suggested. It would
be possible to expand cooperation between the countries in the
spheres of power and oil-and-gas industries. Cooperation in these
spheres was also discussed during Mikhail Kasyanov’s visit to
Mongolia. Russia is ready to discuss the construction of an oil
pipeline via Mongolia’s territory to China. If the project is a
success, all participants will greatly benefit.
Despite the fact that many projects in the oil-and-gas sphere were
created in Vietnam, no oil refinery has been constructed yet. The
explanation is easy: lack of financing. Mikhail Kasyanov’s visit
to Mongolia is believed to have solved the problem.
Thus, the key spheres for Russian-Vietnamese cooperation are the
following: the oil-and-gas industry, arms supplies to Vietnam, and
consumer goods from Vietnam to Russia. Commercial relations
between the two countries will not concern only the mentioned
spheres, as several joint enterprises in the spheres of chemical
industry, construction, etc. have already been created. Russia and
Vietnam have considerable potentia to be actively developed.
Special attention will be paid to development of economic and not
political contacts. Such is the requirement of the time.
Oleg Artyukov
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