Mongolia: A Global Democracy

Mongolia: A Global Democracy

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Monday, October 17, 2016

Vol XCIII, No. 311

Mongolia-an oasis of democracy

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

Mongolia-A Democracy?

Problem Stream

Mongolia's Foreign Policy

12.In implementing its foreign policy, Mongolia shall be guided by the following:

a) Maintaining friendly relations with the Russian Federation, People’s Republic of China shall be a priority directions of Mongolia’s foreign policy activity. It shall not adopt the line of either country but shall maintain in principle a balanced relationship with both of them and shall promote all-round neighbourly cooperation. In doing so, the traditional relations as well as the specific nature of our economic cooperation will these two countries will be taken into account.

b) The second direction of Mongolia’s foreign policy activity shall be developing friendly relations with highly developed countries of the West and East such as the United States of America, Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany. At the same time it will also pursue a policy aimed at promoting friendly relations with such countries as India, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria. Sweden, Switzerland and at creating and bringing to an appropriate level their economic and other interests in Mongolia.

• Landlocked between PRC & Russia
• More than 50 percent fall over the past five years in the price of copper, its main export
• 89% of foreign trade with China
• Russia provides 75% of its gasoline and diesel fuel
• Dried up foreign investment due to anti-investment laws and inconsistent policy
• Rapidly falling rate of Tugrug, the Mongolian currency

Third Neighbor Policy

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- "Third neighbor policy" - cultivating friends beyond China and Russia in order to balance the influence the two powerful neighbors have

Political Stream

- Involvement in peace missions, multilateral dialogues, and regional peace and security cooperation

-Mongolia became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997; the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1998; and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2012

• Democratic party
• Mongolian People's Party
• President: Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj

Japan-Mongolia Relations

Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) 2016

Policy Analysis

Pros:

• “20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity”*
• 30 European and 21 Asian countries, as well as the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Union

- Tangible results

- Less influence from China and Russia

- International recognition as a democracy

Very Tangible Policy Outcomes for Mongolia

Cons:

• Japan is the "first official third neighbor"

• In October 2015, signed an MOU for major economic cooperation and development of mining and infrastructure

• Established a US-Japan-Mongolia trilateralism, focusing on a Mongolia-Russia-China economic corridor in NE-Asia

• More employment opportunities in Mongolia due to higher demand from Japan for natural resources

• More employment of Mongolian people in Japan

• Released from debt of 38bil tugrugs from PRC
• Aid of 350mil yuan from PRC
• Aid of $30 mil from PRC to build a center for children with disabilities
• Tourist visa requirement lifted to enter Malta
• Singapore visa-free entry extended from 14 days to 30 days
• Aid from Vietnam to restore Mongolian museums (and more)

- Doesn't alleviate economic problems

- Should be focusing on establishing trading policies, not peace treaties

- Current foreign policy system doesn't bring in enough foreign investment

- One-by-one approach; not enough development within the country

"But [Mongolia] know[s] the bottom line - they can get as friendly as they like with the EU and the West, but if any kind of conflict or tension came they would be on their own." - Dr Kerry Brown of UK think-tank Chatham House

*Reinforce the multi-dimensional and people-centered partnership; focus cooperation to achieve tangible outcomes; foster connectivity in all its dimensions; promote informality, networking and flexibility

Sources

• http://thediplomat.com/2016/09/mongolias-small-country-diplomacy-and-north-korea/
• http://eagle.mn/r/14073
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-16/world-s-worst-currency-in-record-slide-as-mongolia-sees-crisis
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7596088.stm
• http://thediplomat.com/2016/03/mongolias-third-neighbor-policy-blooms/