“We maintained a presence here during the Cold War. There was a special squadron which was part of the Pacific Fleet that oversaw Moscow’s operations in the Indian Ocean, including Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal,” said Alexey Kupriyanov, an expert in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) at Moscow-based think tank IMEMO RAS (Institute of World Economy and International Relations).
Kupriyanov recalled that Moscow’s ties with Asia-Pacific and African countries were largely limited to political cooperation after the end of the Cold War. He, however, added that since 2021, Moscow has recalibrated its foreign policy focus towards the region.
“We could possibly see one or two Russian naval squadrons focused on the region as it used to be case during the Cold War,” the expert reckoned.
He noted that India’s own Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) viewed the region as a “sphere of cooperation and free trade without making any exceptions”.
Russia’s Economic Interests in the Indian Ocean
“We have had some unpleasant experience on the Northern Sea Route in 2021, when our ships were detained by Denmark. We don't want a repeat of that situation here in Asia-Pacific,” he said.
‘Bangladesh Welcomes Russian Presence’
"Bangladesh is our long-term partner. But currently, Bangladesh is under pressure (from the West). They rely on the US and EU markets for garment and other exports," he stated, an apparent reference to Washington's criticism of Bangladesh's election process.