2

一○一年四月 151期

Priorities set by Russia for APEC-2012 Ambassador Gleb A. Ivashentsov, Deputy Head,

Russian APEC Study Center

Russia was not among the APEC’s founding

fathers. Why Russia joined the forum in 1998, eleven

years after its birth?

Firstly as Russia was, is and will be integral part

of the Asia-Pacific region and APEC economies are her

closest neighbors geographically. Secondly as it is the

region to where the «centre of gravity» of the global

political and economic life is rapidly moving.

We a l s o a i m t o m a i n t a i n c o n t i n u i t y b y

advancing in APEC-2012 agenda the initiatives of

preceding chairs like: (1)the concept of supply chains

connectivity that was introduced in Singapore in 2009,

(2)the basis of growth strategy from Japan hosting

APEC in 2010, (3)sustainable growth and regulatory

cooperation agenda by United States in 2011.

We will at the same time work on promoting our

own priorities on the full scale.

Four areas for the APEC-2012 priorities

1) t rade and inves tment l ibe ra l iza t ion, reg iona l

economic integration;

2) strengthening food security;

3)establishing reliable supply chains; and

4) intensive cooperation to foster innovative growth.

Russia hosts APEC in a well-t imed moment.

Russia's joining the WTO will usher in a qualitatively

new stage in i ts endeavor to integrate i tself into

the global economic sys tem. The conclus ion of

negotiations on the WTO accession is a benefit not

only for us but also a new perspective for all the APEC

economies.

Russ i a i s p r epa red t o t a lk ove r f r ee t r ade

agreements with individual APEC countries while

acting jointly with Kazakhstan and Belarus within the

Customs Union. This kind of partnership, enhanced

by the potential of the common economic space, could

pave way for a new form of integration within APEC

and lead to the expansion of the Asia-Pacific market to

the whole of the Eurasian continent.

APEC has an important role to play in improving

regional and global food security. That includes the

search for sustainable development in the agricultural

sector, facilitation of investment and trade, establishing

eff ic ient and res i l ient food markets and market

infrastructure.

The major challenges for choosing food security

as a topic of priority for 2012 are the price volatility

and the need for joint efforts on food supply support,

including liberalization of investment and innovative

agricultural development.

We want to develop the supply chains agenda

on following issues: (1)food chains as mentioned in

the priority on food security; (2)transparency and

visibility of supply chains, including the application

of promising tracking technologies; (3)improving

informat ion exchange re la ted to supply chains;

(4)logistics and customs technologies capacity building

etc.

Russia is prepared to offer access to its transport

corridors, which are the shortest route between Asia

and Europe.

3

一○一年四月 151期

▲Trans-Siberian and the Baikal-Amur Railways

▲Northern Sea Route

Among other Russ ian in i t ia t ives on supply

chains there are offers on equipping transport hubs

and corridors with systems of Russian satel l i te

navigation GLONASS, cooperation in joint reaction to

emergencies, anti-terrorist protection of transportation

etc.

APEC of the 21st century is seen as a dynamic

and prosperous region built on the development and

application of science, technology and innovation

that improves the quality of life, while safeguarding

the natural environment and achieving sustainable

development. The 2011 APEC Leaders’ Declaration set

the goal of promoting effective, non-discriminatory,

and market-driven innovation policy.

The ideas in this area could possibly include:

(1)developing hi-tech sectors and addressing barriers

to investment; (2)promoting technological progress

among all APEC economies through networking among

innovation centers, high-tech clusters, universities

and research institutions; (3)developing APEC-wide

education networks

Russia’ initiatives in STI:

- c r e a t i o n o f a c o m p r e h e n s i v e m e a s u r e m e n t

system composed of indicators harmonized with

international statistical standards for STI and used by

national statistical offices of APEC economies and

international organizations (OECD, UNESCO etc.).

- “ innova t ive t echno log ica l p l a t fo rms” shou ld

strengthen the networks among business, science and

government stakeholders in key technological areas.

- establishment of an Asia-Pacific Higher Education

Common Space (APHECS)

Russia has distinct advantages

The const ruct ion of the “Vostochny” space

launching ground in the Amur Region will be a kind of

an analogue to the world famous Baikonur.

That biggest national project will have a great

impact not only on the whole of the Russian Far East

but on the adjacent countries as well.

There are good perspectives for cooperation with

the neighbouring countries in the space exploration:

4

一○一年四月 151期

Applied space technologies could help achieving APEC goals in many areas

◎ creation of diversified navigation systems for ships,

◎ monitoring sustainable and green growth,

◎ combating illegal logging and poaching,

◎ fast locating and curbing oil pollution in the sea,

◎ forecast of emergencies etc.

Discussions on practical appliance of space

technologies could be very beneficial for many APEC

working groups.

The Far Eastern Federal University of Vladivostok

equipped with the most modern outfits will be a mighty

center of scientific and technological cooperation with

our APEC partners.

The Vladivostok summit will provide the best

opportunity to demonstrate to the members of the Asia-

Pacific community the potentialities of the economic

partnership with Russia and the perspectives that such

partnership could offer for economic and political

security in the region on a multi-polar basis.

Russia may effectively contribute to solving the

region's energy, transport, scientific, technological

and environmental problems, and our partners are well

aware of that. Regional military and political stability,

collective aefforts to counter international terrorism,

emergency response cooperation, or dialogue between

civilizations are unimaginable without Russia.

R u s s i a o f f e r s t o p a r t n e r s a p o s i t i v e a n d

unifying agenda. She is neither looking for one-

sided preferences nor striving to play up present

contradictions. She affirms her role by readiness to

cooperate with all countries which reciprocate by their

willingness to cooperate.

The main drive will be provided by economic

and social up-lift of the trans-Baikal and Russian

Far Eastern territories. Exploration of their natural

resources would bring results comparable to the United

States Westward movement in the end of 19-th century

if not greater than those. In any case it would surely

leave its impact on all civilization processes in Asia-

Pacific region and beyond.

Such a work demands enormous financial means

which Russia may not be in a position to invest at

present just on her own. That appeals to international

cooperation which is to be based on Russian Law on

the principle of mutual benefits.

The Soviet Union became a great power not

because of massive oil and gas exports. Big-scale

industrialization and the high level of education,

science and technology were the ground of her might.

Soviet hydrocarbon exports grew manifold just in

1970s when the country’s economy had al ready

become the world runner-up.

Development of technological basis predicts

sound investments to infrastructure, research and

design works, vocational training of personnel and in

certain industries imports of advanced technologies

and modern equipment not available in Russia which

are needed for accelerated modernization of Russian

economy. On the other s ide the creat ion of new

work places on that basis would help to improve the

demographic situation.

That would also overcome the infrastructural

d isuni ty of the Eastern Siber ia and Far Eastern

regions and their relative economic isolation from

the European part of the country which has appeared

during last twenty years. That would strengthen the

integration of the Eurasian economic space of Russia

as a whole and therefore the national security of the

5

一○一年四月 151期

Russian state, its integrity, political and economic

independence.

The i n t e r e s t s o f t he i n t e rna l and ex t e rna l

security of Russia are closely intertwined in the Far

East as nowhere else. On one hand we are in the

need of strengthening internal security to settle our

external problems. On the other hand stable internal

development demands the absence of external threats.

Energy security is the most important for settling

the APEC tasks. The world is facing a structural energy

crisis today which is expanding. The crisis is caused by

a sharp growth of energy consumption.

The deposits of traditional hydrocarbons, first of

all, crude oil, are being exhausted.

Some exper ts es t imate remaining world oi l

reserves at oil. About half of the original energy stock

has already been pumped out.

By 2020 Northeast Asia alone wil l consume

half of the world energy. But there is also the other,

political side of the issue. The competition for access

to the energy resources has become the main driving

force of the international politics.

The growing imports from other parts of the

world, first of all from Middle East, practically put

Northeast Asia on the Middle Eastern oil and gas

needle.

The lack of hydrocarbons to fuel the traditional

p r o d u c t i o n o f e l e c t r i c e n e r g y p r o p e l l e d t h e

advancement of the nuclear energy in the region.

In addition to Japan, China and South Korea such

count r ies as Vie tnam, Tha i land, Indones ia and

Philippines have also started developing plans for

construction of nuclear powerhouses.

The events of 2011 have brought serious new

nuances and accents to the energy situation in Asia-

Pacific. The Middle East states got entangled by social

and other upheavals and there is no guarantees that

the wave of instability would not sooner or later cover

the main suppliers of hydrocarbons to Northeast Asia.

Fukushima in her turn has sharply illuminated all

challenges and threats connected with the development

of nuclear energy.

Development of Asia-Pacific energy partnership

would not only secure stable economic growth of the

region. It would reduce the sharpness of confrontation

of certain states or group of states in the energy

markets. It is no secret that such confrontation of

interests in the competition for resources serves a

primary ground for most of territorial disputes in the

Asia-Pacific space.

The security systems’ architecture presently

existing in the Asia-Pacific region was formed in

the time of Cold War in the format of US – USSR

confrontation. It neither reflects the new alignment of

forces in the region, nor the tasks of combating global

and regional threats, first of all non-military ones, and

therefore needs a radical reconstruction.

Development of Asia-Pacific energy partnership

could serve a weighty contribution to strengthening

universal regional security. By the way European

Union started with the formation of the European Coal

and Steel Community in 1950.

In 2011 Honolulu Declaration APEC leaders

put forward an ambitious goal - to reduce APEC's

aggregate energy intensity by 45 percent by 2035.

They set the task to work by joint efforts for softening

the negative effects of climate change by developing

ecologically clean, low-carbon and energy saving

technologies.

6

一○一年四月 151期

Hydrocarbons, no doubt, will dominate the APEC

energy consumption in years to come. Therefore it

would be reasonable to take efforts to raise the share

of the natural gas in the energy consumption as the

ecologically cleanest fossil fuel. We call for broadening

trans-border trade in natural gas, for improving data

collection on natural gas and in support of formation of

APEC Gas Forum.

There is no alternative to nuclear energy either

as it is also ecology friendly. We need to take agreed

joint efforts to work out additional security measures

for nuclear power houses reactors, for responding to

accidents, for protection and rehabilitation of territories

and population in radiation emergencies etc. All that

work has got special significance after Fukushima.

Russia can in many ways help to se t t le the

common task of regional energy security.

The export of Russian hydrocarbons to China,

J apan and Sou th Korea has been con t inuous ly

increasing. The Government of Russia Energy strategy

sets the task to increase the share of the Asia-Pacific

region in Russia’s exports:

Russia can offer a lot in the sphere of nuclear

energy as well, starting from construction of nuclear

power houses and ending with processing of used fuel

in which my country has practically no competitors.

My country actively cooperates in the peaceful use of

nuclear energy in the region with China and Vietnam

(including construction of nuclear powerhouses),

as well as with Japan and South Korea (supplies of

nuclear fuel, participation in the ITER project etc.)

Energy securi ty issues include environment

protection and prevention of climate change. The task

of the day is to cut energy consumption and to raise

energy efficiency. Along with other APEC economies

Russia takes efforts to address both the region’s

economic and environmental challenges by speeding

the transition toward a global low-carbon economy in

a way that enhances energy security and creates new

sources of economic growth and employment.

Among other i ssues Russia has proposed to

include in the summit’s agenda finding new ways of

reacting to natural disasters and other emergencies. The

latter has acquired particular relevance given that the

Asia-Pacific region is among the world’s tsunami and

quake-prone zones and is often hit by epidemics.

During her tenure as APEC chair, Russia also

will focus on cooperation in the fight against terrorism

and transnational crime. We believe that no one will

question the importance of this aspect of APEC’s

activity.

Russia has no hidden agendas in the region. Our

state does not aim to forge covert military alliances

tha t wou ld th rea t en anyone’ s s ecu r i ty. On the

contrary, we look forward to intensifying diversified

multilateral economic and political cooperation with

all the countries that show willingness for joint work

with us. Cooperation for peace, stability and common

prosperity is the key principle that determines the

vector of our efforts in the Asia-Pacific dimension.

We hope that with such new approach to provide

security in the Asia-Pacific region we will be able to

get rid of the confrontational heritage of the Cold War

and to prevent the appearance in the region of new

separating lines which could threaten the prospects of

integration of Asia-Pacific states for co-development.

H i s t o r y p r o v e d t h a t l o n g- t e r m e c o n o m i c

partnership and joint work on big-scale projects serves

the best way to lessen tension and promote trust and

confidence between states.

My country acquired that experience in her

relations with West Europe in 1960s and 1970s. Today

when the Asia-Pacific region has advanced to the world

economic and political fore-scene, Russia strategically

needs to raise the level of her political and economic

interaction with the Asia-Pacific to the mark achieved

earlier with Europe.

This year we will mark the twentieth anniversary

of Russia-Taiwan relations of economic and cultural

7

一○一年四月 151期

cooperation. The contacts between two economies

have been successfully developing, widening and

deepening. The trade has been growing every year. The

“made in Taiwan” brands can be seen in many Russian

homes – on “Acer” computers, on home appliances, on

cosmetics.

There is joint manufacturing of electric cars,

a s w e l l a s c o m p o n e n t s a n d s p a r e s n e e d e d f o r

them. Dozens of Taiwanese companies including

world IT-market leaders have started their offices

and branches in Russia. The areas of partnership

include outer space physics and space technologies,

electronics, information and telecommunications

t echnolog ies. Ta iwanese companies a re among

partners of “Rosnano” Russian State Corporation.

Nanotechnologies are a very perspective sphere of joint

work for Russian and Taiwanese scientists.

There is no doubt that development of Russian-

Taiwanese informal contacts is mutually beneficial.

There are many spheres of common interest.

A lot can be done working together in the APEC

framework. There are good prospects of joint work

on innovations and high-tech. Russian experts will

be interested in the Taiwanese experience of settling

transportation problems of big cities, of highway

construction, of smart grids etc.

普欽主義下俄羅斯的經濟發展及其與亞太區域經濟整合 政治大學俄羅斯所教授　洪美蘭

俄 羅 斯 與 亞 太 區 域 經 濟 整 合

(續150期p.9)（一） 實現普欽長期以來企圖恢復俄羅斯主導此地區之宿願，重拾大俄羅斯光榮與霸權地位，再創一個

強大的俄羅斯，展現往日大國的影響力。

（二） 歐亞聯盟組織若成功運作，將能整合俄國與中亞資源及其他獨協市場，則才足以與其他既有且龐大的區域經濟整合組織競合，也才能提高外資參與此區域經濟發展之利基，進而為俄國位於東北

亞的西伯利亞和遠東地區，提高吸引外資的誘因。

（三） 2010年1月20日普欽總理已批准「遠東和貝加爾湖地區2025年前經濟社會發展戰略」，提及遠東與周邊中、日、韓、蒙古等國的合作開發問題。俄國冀望透過歐亞聯盟之成立，持續深化和擴增

與亞太國家經濟互動整合，以引進日、韓、美等投資遠東，與中國競逐，改變現階段中國寡佔遠

東的態勢，獲得各國外資流入、技術投入等開發與現代化之資源，增加多元的投資來源機會。

（四） 俄國獨立至今最主要的對外貿易、投資夥伴為歐盟，且多數俄國公民自認是歐洲人。然而，在對歐能源擴張與投資遭到歐盟打壓，西向發展面臨瓶頸，頻頻受挫後，俄國體認到全方位多元化外

銷市場的必要性，特別是目前其經濟成長端視能源出口狀況而定，故將能源發展的焦點轉向東

方擴展。加以，中國經濟崛起，對能源需求恐急，兩國一拍即合，在互補互利下雙邊貿易快速增

長。中國大陸從千禧年起逐漸在俄國對外貿易上加重其佔有地位，夾著龐大的內需市場與強勁的

增長潛能，已經在2010年首次躍升為俄國第一大貿易夥伴。因此，俄國在兼顧現今兩大對外夥伴的考量下，冀望將自己發展為兩者間之聯繫，建立一個從里斯本到海參崴的經濟整合空間，透過

左右逢源方式，統收兩邊競合的政經利益，裨益國家經濟發展，發揮俄羅斯傳統的雙頭鷹角色。

三、俄國參與亞太的佈局與挑戰去(2011)年10月八個獨協國家：俄羅斯、烏克蘭、白俄羅斯、哈薩克、亞美尼亞、吉爾吉斯、摩爾

多瓦、塔吉克，簽訂自由貿易協定以取代1994年的協議。且俄國也已經表示，成功加入世界貿易組織