Russia's Energy Diplomacy Toward Northeast Asia and Korea
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Woo Pyung-Kyun 
Published: June 2018

This article has a purpose to analyze the characteristics of Russia's diplomacy toward Korea, Japan, and China, as main states of Northeast Asia. Russia's energy diplomacy toward Northeast Asia is recognized as a ardent issue, while the scope of Russia's diplomacy has been broadened to East Asia from the traditional region in her concerning, the Europe. Russia's Energy strategy and the export system to Northeast Asian states is connected deeply each other. Russia thinks strategically energy resources. Japan and China have been also considered energy resources as a strategic one as well as Russia, and it is evident that they have been established long term plan for energy supply. Energy strategy of Japan and China is mixed in the structure of geo-political axis, confrontation, competition, and concert in international relation. Russia wants to manage her leadership in negotiation with the other state through bilateral contact on energy cooperation and Russia also intends to participate directly in the management of mega project. Japan and China willing to aside from advantage of their country in the fields of import quarter and pipe line connection. Contrary to, Russia has to maximize her interests, using the nature of competition between Japan and China. Japan-China rivals is originated from supply system and that cooperation between Japan and China is difficult to make for it's competitive nature. Korea has to set her desirable role as a arbitrator among the major states, Russia, China, and Japan in Northeast Asia rather than making the states' cooperation frame. Russia as a single export state in energy sector in Northeast Asia has a vivid goal for achieving leadership with bilateralism in energy cooperation. If only Korea will try to negotiate through multilateralism, Korea should be surrounded by alienated atmosphere in Northeast Asia. It could be recognized rightly that Korean government has been tried for securing the multi energy market from abroad in 2000s. Nevertheless, Korea has to participate in the development of East Siberia as a common goods in global level, and has to consider positively the development of West Siberia which possesses abundant potential quantity in energy resources beyond the East Siberia and the construction of pipeline. For multifying and sharing the danger of investment, legally stable institutions are needed, transparency on burying quantity is guaranteed, technical difficulty is avoided, and the politicalization of energy business is has to evaded. And it is need to founding international consortium which is managed by foreign companies, the danger of energy projection has to evaded as a outcome of this, and international cooperation and common policies on this field has to be eschewed. At the same time, Korean government should strive to obtain the utmost cooperation of Russia in the various bilateral energy projects which are reciprocally beneficial to Russia and Korea. At last, the increasing of Korea's sharing the interests in energy export market in Northeast Asia is connected to trying to the possibilities and methods of excising energy development beyond potentiality. It is need to suggest that this point can provoke to establish action plan and long term blue print with the strategic thinking on energy resources.