Articles in the spring and early summer of 2016 were split between two categories: those on Sino-Russian relations, affirming or refuting charges that they have failed to meet expectations; and those praising Russia’s ability to remain aloof from the major disputes in the Asia-Pacific while maintaining its great power role. The former tended to draw analogies between conditions faced in Europe and Asia, while the latter found a diametrically opposed situation in the two regions for Russia. The contrast hinted at a debate under way with implications for Russian relations with Southeast Asia after the Sochi Russia-ASEAN summit of May 19-20, with Japan after Abe Shinzo’s visit to Sochi on May 6, and with both Koreas as implementation of the Resolution 2270 waits. Yet, on all three challenges, there was limited forthright analysis on the real state of things.

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