The FINANCIAL -- China and Russia are two powerful nations which once had communist philosophy as a common heritage, although they had their own brands of state control and management.

They both had a chequered history, did not have a strong bonding between themselves, but had through the years maintained a close and high level diplomatic relationship  which allowed both nations to develop a stand-alone foreign policy format substantially distinct from the West. In real terms, they saw the world and its affairs very differently. Their current stand on Syria where both countries resolutely object to any armed intervention in that country is symbolic of their common vision that global politics, trade and the control of resources must be counter-balanced by a third force.

The formation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation consisting of China and Russia and four other Eurasian countries, with India and Pakistan wishing to join SCO, along with other smaller nations quietly bidding to be full members, could be regarded as a strategic initiative by China and Russia to consolidate their strength and outreach in trade and investments on the one hand and a greater engagement in defining global agenda.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) consisting of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives Islands and Bhutan has been limping its way through for several years, mainly on account of the high level of open and hidden conflicts the nations have among themselves. India and Pakistan still remain poised against each other. Bangladesh and India do not enjoy great friendship and relations between India and Sri Lanka have not matured to fuller trust between them. Hence, if the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation begins to fully engage the SAARC countries and bring them on board as full members, it would be a much larger and more potent bloc of nations with much of the world population and wealth within it.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been a very active and focussed group which had translated much of the rhetoric into reality. During its early stages of its evolution as a political and trade bloc, ASEAN’s focus was very much on containing the spread of communism in the region – an effort fully supported by the West. Now that Vietnam War is long ended, communism in China has turned into state and private capitalism, the Soviet Union has been dismembered, ASEAN’s initial glue for bonding together has disappeared. The group however has matured and is looking for greater alliances to protect its wealth and grow its economies.

Then we have APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, an initiative spear-headed by Australia which felt that it was being gradually marginalised from mainstream Asia on account of its predominantly Anglo-Saxon pedigree, with the Queen of England being the head of state. Similar to the European Union , the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the North Atlantic Free Trade Organisation, the groupings evolved to serve the specific purpose of developing regional strengths to manage their weaknesses. However, in a world where borders are coming down by the day and where free trade and investments are expanding rapidly, many of these organisations may not necessarily be valid or useful, unless there is a confirmed strategy among the big powers to ensure that world dominance is always their prime agenda.

President Putin and Chinese leader Hu Jintao held substantial discussions on a range of issues in Beijing last week. They also signed a number of agreements related to trade and investments. Agreements and understanding on military collaboration were also on the card. Joint investments on key strategic areas of industry such as oil and gas, on infrastructure were fully discussed. Both countries have signalled to each other and the world that they will work together toward resolving a number of issues pertaining not merely to their own countries, but issues which affect their countries – ranging from how to deal with North Korea and the continuing euro crisis badly managed by European leaders.

Both China and Russia are members of the Security Council in the United Nations, with veto powers. They can effectively block any resolution deemed not to be in their interest. Both countries have rarely concurred with the West on a number of issues although they have been active participants in bilateral and multilateral discussions and negotiations.

Despite communism being thrown out as a failed economic paradigm, the West continues to worry that both China and Russia as being two nations which may not necessarily see eye to eye on established standards of freedom, democracy and the established values of transparency. China and Russia however feel that the West has merely paid lip service to these ideals mainly in third countries where they had vested interests and had often gone along with dictatorships as long as those dictatorial regimes and denial of fundamental freedoms did not affect their own lives at home.

There is yet deep distrust at the core of relationships between the West and the emerging China- Russia axis.

The distrust has been built over years and it would be hard to rebuild overnight. There have been events and incidents which have contributed to even increased fears that these two countries can act unilaterally. What seems however to be foremost in their psyche is that, despite their wealth and military strength, they are being ring-fenced into submission of accepting what is doled out as standard policies, practices and procedures. There is evident resentment by both China and Russia of strategies which are currently adopted in both the economic and military fronts on a global scale where those strategies are not inclusive of either China or Russia.

China and Russia consolidating their strengths as two partners, perhaps viewing the world from the same prism, is undoubtedly on account of the fact that they are not easily and genuinely  accommodated as strong partners by the West. This must change.

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