News Analysis: Russia stands up to Western threats, pivots to east

Russia has updated a bunch of strategies to fight against threats to its national security, as demonstrated by the document "About the Strategy of National Security of the Russian Federation," which President Vladimir Putin signed on New Year's Eve.

Amid ongoing clashes with the West over Ukraine and other fronts, leaders of the country have chosen to stand up to Western threats, while attaching growing importance to security cooperation across the Asia-Pacific.

On the one hand, the West has shown substantial willingness, following visits to Moscow by leaders or senior representatives of major Western powers, to work with the Kremlin on a global anti-terror campaign and a political settlement of the protracted conflict in Syria. On the other hand, one can hardly deny new friction and tensions would arise during this engagement, considering the fact that the West remains vigilant about a Russia that aspires to regain its global stature.

Taking into account the enormous changes in the geopolitical, military and economic situation, the document, a revised version of the 2009 one, calls for the consolidation of "Russia's status of a leading world power."

Russia believes it is now confronted with a host of threats, both traditional and new, such as the expansion of NATO, military build-up and deployment in its neighboring countries, a new arms race with the United States, as well as attempts to undermine the Moscow regime and to incite a "color revolution" in the country.

Last year has witnessed repeated saber-rattling between Russia and NATO. The expansion of the alliance, which saw a need to adapt to long-term security challenges with special interests in deploying heavy weapons in Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries, was blamed for the current military situation in the region and its cooling relationship with Moscow that has warned it would respond to any military build-up near Russian borders.

At the same time, sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies over Moscow's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula Crimea and its alleged role in the Ukraine crisis, together with the ongoing fall in oil prices, have once again drawn attention to Russia's over-reliance on exports of raw materials and high vulnerability to the fluctuations in foreign markets, which the new document described as "main strategic threats to national security in the economy."

Moreover, the daunting provocation and infiltration of the Islamic State terrorist group have just made Russia's security concerns even graver. Domestically, Moscow has tightened security measures since Islamic extremists threatened attacks and bloodshed in the country. Globally, it has long been calling for a unified coalition, including collaboration with the United States, to double down on the anti-terror battle.

As antagonism between Russia and the West currently shows little signs of receding, Moscow has begun to turn eastward, a strategic transition that is reflected by the national security blueprint.

Mentioning specific relations with foreign countries, the document noted firstly that the strategic partnership of coordination with China is a key force to uphold global and regional stability. It then mentioned the country's "privileged strategic partnership" with India.

Russia has also been active in expanding security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region under such frameworks as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, as well as the dialogue mechanism among Russia, China and India.

Confrontation or cooperation, Russia's new national security strategy did stress that "the use of military force to protect the national interests is only possible if all nonviolent measures turned out to be inefficient." It goes on to say that "the persisting bloc-based approach to solving international problems doesn't facilitate the reduction of all the spectrum of challenges and threats looming large today." Endi