The US and Mongolia formalised their relations as a Strategic Partnership in 2019 and in 2022 – clearly with one eye on Ukraine – the two countries announced they were deepening the partnership “in all areas of mutual interest”, including an “open skies” agreement which would guarantee scheduled nonstop passenger flights between the two countries. Since the demise of the Soviet Union, Mongolia has adopted a strategy of maintaining strong ties with “ third neighbours” – countries that embrace democratic values but also practice market economics, including the US (it was a term first articulated with connection to Mongolian foreign policy in August 1990 by then US secretary of state James Baker). Third neighboursīut Mongolia sees its independence increasingly threatened as Russia and China grow closer. This, and the activities of secessionist groups in the province, is a persistent point of conflict between China and Mongolia. Mongolia’s relationship with China is complicated by the fact that a significant part of what was traditionally Mongolia is now an “autonomous region” of China ( Inner Mongolia), with a population of ethnic Mongolians larger than that of Mongolia itself. Protests against inflation and allegations of corruption linked to Monglia’s coal trade with China, Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia December 2022. Mongolia has also strengthened bilateral security relations with the US. To this end, they have partnered with strategic states in Asia, such as Japan and India, and rekindled military ties with Russia by entering a “strategic partnership” and conducting joint military exercises, while still maintaining a strong relationship with China. This basically meant building relationships with as many partners as possible, both regionally and globally – including, significantly, the US.īut since 2000, Mongolia has embraced the policy concept of “ balance-of-power” to reduce the country’s reliance on any one nation. Initially, Mongolia’s foreign policy relied heavily on “ omni-enmeshment”. The obvious policy for Mongolia to pursue was to attempt to balance the two great powers in the region. The June 1993 presidential election in Mongolia, which was ruled as free and fair by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, saw the incumbent president, Ochirbat Punsalmaa – who had been appointed after a ballot by members of the existing Presidium of the People’s Great Khural (the national assembly) – elected for a four-year term.Ī new constitution was adopted, with a three-part structure under the speaker of the parliament, the prime minister and the president and, while there have been instances of political corruption, Freedom House gives the country a high rating for both political rights and civil liberties.Īll of which cannot disguise that the fledgling democracy remained wedged between (at the time chaotic) Russia and an increasingly assertive and authoritarian China. His resignation in 1990 and the emergence of Ardchilsan Kholboo (Mongolian Democratic Union) paved the way for the development of a multiparty democracy. There is no need to utilise the police or involve the military … Actually, these demonstrators, participants, and protesters are our children.” The then leader, Jambyn Batmönkh, refused to even consider quelling pro-democracy demonstrations, instead saying: “Any force shall not be used. The collapse of communism in the early 1990s resulted in what proved to be a smooth transition. The country’s centralised command economy was almost entirely dependent on Moscow for survival. With vast agricultural, livestock and mineral resources, and an educated population, Mongolia’s development prospects look promising in the long-term assuming the continuation of structural reforms.įrom 1921 to 1990, Mongolia was effectively part of the Soviet bloc, although not part of the Soviet Union itself. By pursuing a nimble foreign and trade policy since it transitioned to a multiparty democracy in the early 1990s, Mongolia has established a stable economy, receiving a thumbs up from the World Bank in its latest country report: It gets much of its power from Russia, and China buys much of its exports – mainly agricultural goods and minerals such as copper. The country sits landlocked between Russia and China and is fearful of antagonising either. “When the parents divorce, the children are the ones who get hurt the most.” Mongolia’s prime minister, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, recently expressed his country’s fear that the world is heading towards a new cold war as the relations between Russia and China and the west – particularly Nato – have taken a turn for the worse.
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