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NATO Eastward Enlargement: Strategic Implications for Eurasia
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9
R
ECONFIGURATION
OF
THE
S
TRATEGIC
E
QUILIBRIUM
IN
C
ENTRAL
A
SIA
Located at the center of Eurasia, on the intersection of critical transport routes,Central Asia represents a strategic component of Eurasian space. This geographicarea has no access to the great oceans and its communications with world marketsrelate to inland transport and energy routes. However, its strategic geographiclocation, its status of a land corridor to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean aswell as its enormous energy and mineral wealth and the profitability of the futureCentral Asian energy projects significantly increases its importance andattractiveness.
Traditionally, Central Asia is a crossing point of diverse interests of regional andnon-regional powers such as Russia, China, Great Britain, Turkey, Iran, amongothers. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 created five independent statesin Central Asia, which fundamentally changed the strategic configuration of thewider Central Asian zone. Two of the interested countries – namely, Russia andChina, succeeded in institutionalizing and, in some way, fitting their competinginterests in the region through the establishment of the Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO) including the four of the Central Asian republics (exceptTurkmenistan). Based on the recognition of the common threat (Islamicfundamentalism) on behalf of the member states, the SCO was designed as aregional security framework among nations, between which there hardly was anyinteraction for a long period of time.
The vast gas and oil resources of the region as well as the global war againstterrorism have brought new powers into the play – the United States, the EuropeanUnion, Japan, South Korea. Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the UnitedStates, NATO member states invoked Article V, the alliance’s collective defenseclause, to come to the aid of the United States in the conflict against terrorism. Ata NATO ministerial meeting in Reykjavik in May 2002, NATO members agreedthat they must be able to carry out the full range of missions and to field forceswherever they are needed, sustain operations over distance and time, and achievetheir objectives
2
. This was followed by an out-of-area action against terrorism –
that in Afghanistan.
The Alliance’s involvement in Afghanistan is one of the most significant examplesof the way NATO has evolved in the recent years. NATO has been leading theInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since August 2003, which aims atbringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and ensures that the country is neveragain used as a base for terrorists. The five Central Asian republics - neighboringAfghanistan, the Caucasus and the Middle East, have come to play an essential
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| | Authors: Minchev, Ognyan. |
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9
R
ECONFIGURATION
OF
THE
S
TRATEGIC
E
QUILIBRIUM
IN
C
ENTRAL
A
SIA
Located at the center of Eurasia, on the intersection of critical transport routes,
Central Asia represents a strategic component of Eurasian space. This geographic
area has no access to the great oceans and its communications with world markets
relate to inland transport and energy routes. However, its strategic geographic
location, its status of a land corridor to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean as
well as its enormous energy and mineral wealth and the profitability of the future
Central Asian energy projects significantly increases its importance and
attractiveness.
Traditionally, Central Asia is a crossing point of diverse interests of regional and
non-regional powers such as Russia, China, Great Britain, Turkey, Iran, among
others. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 created five independent states
in Central Asia, which fundamentally changed the strategic configuration of the
wider Central Asian zone. Two of the interested countries – namely, Russia and
China, succeeded in institutionalizing and, in some way, fitting their competing
interests in the region through the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) including the four of the Central Asian republics (except
Turkmenistan). Based on the recognition of the common threat (Islamic
fundamentalism) on behalf of the member states, the SCO was designed as a
regional security framework among nations, between which there hardly was any
interaction for a long period of time.
The vast gas and oil resources of the region as well as the global war against
terrorism have brought new powers into the play – the United States, the European
Union, Japan, South Korea. Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United
States, NATO member states invoked Article V, the alliance’s collective defense
clause, to come to the aid of the United States in the conflict against terrorism. At
a NATO ministerial meeting in Reykjavik in May 2002, NATO members agreed
that they must be able to carry out the full range of missions and to field forces
wherever they are needed, sustain operations over distance and time, and achieve
their objectives
2
. This was followed by an out-of-area action against terrorism –
that in Afghanistan.
The Alliance’s involvement in Afghanistan is one of the most significant examples
of the way NATO has evolved in the recent years. NATO has been leading the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since August 2003, which aims at
bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and ensures that the country is never
again used as a base for terrorists. The five Central Asian republics - neighboring
Afghanistan, the Caucasus and the Middle East, have come to play an essential
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