"Observation bridgehead": why Washington is developing strategic cooperation with Mongolia

The American leadership is proud that the United States is the "third neighbor" for Mongolia, the Pentagon chief Mark Esper said after a meeting with his Mongolian colleague Nyamaaginy Enkhbold.

“Today, Minister of Defense (Nyamaagiyny) Enkhbold and I discussed common values ​​for the United States and Mongolia - a commitment to democracy and human rights. We will continue to work together to strengthen our relations and achieve our goals. We are proud to be the “third neighbor” of Mongolia, ”the Pentagon’s head of Twitter said in a statement.

Today, MinDef Enkhbold and I discussed US-Mongolia shared values ​​- a commitment to democracy and human rights. We will continue to work together to strengthen our relationship and achieve our goals. We are proud to be your “third neighbor.” Pic.twitter.com/iC9nUdzaOm

The day before, the head of the American defense department arrived in Mongolia as part of his tour of East Asian countries. During the visit, no signing of bilateral documents was planned. The purpose of the trip is “confirmation of common values” of the USA and Mongolia.

Speaking about the role of the United States as the “third neighbor” of Mongolia, Esper had in mind the concept that appeared in the vocabulary of Mongolian politicians after the revolution of the early 1990s. Geographically, the country borders on only two countries - Russia and China. However, Ulan Bator does not intend to close all its military-political and economic contacts in these two states. Mongolia belongs to the “third” neighbors of those states with which the republic maintains the closest relations, including the USA, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the EU countries. Cooperation with them is designed to balance Russian and Chinese influence in the region, experts say.

Mark Esper’s trip to Mongolia was preceded by a visit by Mongolian President Haltmaagiin Battulga to the United States, where he met with the head of the White House, Donald Trump. For the first time in eight years, the Mongolian leader arrived in the United States - a previous visit in 2011 was made by one of Battulga’s predecessors in the presidency, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorzh.

Following the results of the current talks, the leaders of the two countries signed a declaration on strategic partnership between Mongolia and the United States. The parties intend to “increase cooperation as developed democracies” by preserving and promoting democratic values ​​and respect for human rights, including freedom of religion, belief and expression, as well as combating corruption and other measures.

As noted in the RT commentary, the head of the Mongolia sector of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Graivoronsky, after the conclusion of an agreement on strategic cooperation, the partnership between Mongolia and the USA was taken to a new level.

“Prior to this, such agreements were concluded only with four countries, including Russia,” the expert added.

Equalization Policy

In the military sphere, Washington and Ulan Bator began to cooperate at the end of the last century. In 1996, countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on the exchange of visits of military experts. The Mongolian military began training in the United States, and countries also began to conduct joint command post exercises. In 2003, Mongolia sent its military brigades to Iraq and Afghanistan to participate in operations under the auspices of the Pentagon - at the time of 2017, about 233 Mongolian troops were present in Afghanistan, this is stated in the certificate of the US State Department.

• Khaan Quest teachings - 2011
• © dvidshub.net

In addition, since 2003, the United States and Mongolia have been conducting joint field exercises, which by 2006 received the status of international maneuvers and the name "Khaan Quest" - now military men from dozens of countries take part in them annually. The exercises, initiated by Washington and Ulaanbaatar, work out UN peacekeeping operations.

However, partnerships with the Pentagon do not prevent the Mongolian authorities from developing interaction with their closest neighbors: for example, last year Moscow and Ulan Bator signed a long-term program of military cooperation.

The White House seeks to develop economic ties with Mongolia in order to reduce the dependence of the Asian republic on trade with China. Due to geographical conditions, the entire foreign trade turnover of Mongolia goes through the Russian and Chinese borders. In addition, Russian imports cover up to 90% of Mongolia's demand for petroleum products. In turn, China is a key foreign trade partner of Mongolia - last year, China accounted for 70% of Mongolian foreign trade.

In August last year, a bill was introduced in the U.S. Congress proposing to stimulate US-Mongolian trade relations by abolishing duties. As the authors of the document reminded, Mongolia borders only with the PRC and Russia, who "want to create a world directly opposite the values ​​and interests of the United States."

A month later, Washington and Ulaanbaatar adopted a roadmap for expanding economic partnership between the countries. According to the document, both countries intend to look for opportunities to increase mutually beneficial trade.

According to experts, Ulaanbaatar sees these initiatives as an opportunity to establish equidistant ties with all major powers.

“The Mongolian authorities are trying to balance between the major powers - Russia, China, as well as the United States and its allies,” explained Vladimir Greyvoronsky. “The goal of Ulan Bator is to get the benefits of cooperation with all countries, but the Mongolian side would not want to be dependent on anyone.”

However, experts doubt that the States will indeed be able to significantly expand trade with Mongolia.

“The idea, of course, is logical. But it is not clear how the Americans intend to put this plan into practice. The states are far from Mongolia, and they themselves are seriously tied to trade with China. The Mongolian authorities simply do not have the money to buy American weapons, ”said Andrei Manoilo, doctor of political sciences and professor at Moscow State University, in an interview with RT.

Asian strategy

The intensification of US-Mongolian relations is observed against the background of the keen interest shown by Washington in the Indo-Pacific region, experts say.

Washington’s expansion of Asia’s spheres of influence has been seen for a long time - back in 2011, Hillary Clinton, who headed the State Department at that time, announced that the presence of the United States in Asia is a prerequisite for maintaining American global leadership, as it is in Asia that “the main part of the story will be written” XXI century. "

• Hillary Clinton
• Reuters
• © Brendan McDermid

The new administration of the White House continued the “Asian course”. Last year, James Mattis, then head of the Pentagon, announced the renaming of the Pacific Command of the US Armed Forces in the Indo-Pacific, explaining this decision by the growing interconnection of the two regions. The plans of the United States include the support of all partners in Asia, both large and small, then explained the head of the Pentagon.

The key opponent of Washington in the region remains China, which appears in the US doctrinal documents as one of the key threats. As stated by Mark Esper on August 4 during a visit to Australia, the States do not support the PRC's desire for dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.

At the same time, Mongolia is considered by Washington as one of the key allies in the region. In the Pentagon report, published at the end of May of this year, “reliable, capable and natural partners of the United States” in the Indo-Pacific region are countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and Mongolia.

“These four states are supporting US operations around the world and are taking active steps to maintain a free and open international order,” the document says.

The authors of the report indicate that the United States and Mongolia are united by a “common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region”, and the cooperation of the parties is for him a “stabilizing factor”.

This is also stated in the declaration published following the recent talks between the presidents of Mongolia and the United States. The two leaders agreed to "cooperate in promoting national security and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region."

As Andrei Manoilo noted in a RT commentary, deepening the US-Mongolian partnership could indeed be an annoying factor for Beijing.

“Firstly, China borders on Mongolia, and secondly, in the north of the PRC there is an autonomous region inhabited mainly by ethnic Mongols. In Beijing, they may fear that the Americans will try to use this circumstance to undermine political stability in China, ”the expert said.

According to Vladimir Grayvoronsky, US-Mongolian military cooperation was previously at a good level, but the American leadership intends to further deepen it.

“Washington sees strengthening its ties with Mongolia primarily as a means to contain China. But, given the crisis in US-Russian relations, Mongolia is theoretically of great interest to the States and as an observation base for tracking not only the south of China, but also the north of Russia, as well as the countries of Central Asia, ”the expert summed up.