MOSCOW \u2014\u00a0With Russia’s defense industry cut off from Western markets following a series of sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union last summer, Moscow has been hyping up efforts to bolster its presence in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian arms exports already have a firm presence in the region. According to a report released earlier this year by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), more than 60 percent of Russian arms exports go to Asia and Oceania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India and China in particular command a large percentage of these orders. As a share of total Russian arms transfers from during the period of <\/span>2010 to 2014, India and China represented 39 and 11 percent of Russian arms transfers, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Russia’s political and economic relations with the West collapsed last year over Moscow’s actions in the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin and senior Russian government officials have been pushing\u00a0busy hyping up <\/span>the development\u00a0of a new Sino-Russian alliance to counter Western influence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This has resulted in a number of boisterous <\/span>joint-project announcements \u2014 from the co-design and production of new military transport aircraft, heavy-lift helicopters\u00a0and even the sale of advanced Russian rocket engines to the Chinese space program.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Russia may have a bigger share in the Asian arms markets due to offering attractive conditions for its deals with regional powers,” said Pyotr Topychkanov, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In particular, Russia has a chance to expand deals with Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh\u00a0and Pakistan, Topychkanov argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, “I wouldn’t be overly optimistic regarding Russia’s opportunities in Asia. Oil exporters like Vietnam have realized their need to review military demands, and other arms exporters are becoming more aggressive in the arms market, and flexible in establishing contacts with nations they previously viewed as unacceptable trade partners. “<\/p>\n\n\n\n