Mongolia is in a delicate situation. It’s dependent on both Russia and China but it also increasingly looks longingly towards the West. This year it has humbly extended invitations to visit to both Xi Jinping and to Vladimir Putin, while also trying to persuade Elon Musk to set up a factory on its home soil. This is what Mongolia calls its Third Neighbor Policy — a phrase coined by former Secretary of State James Baker during an Ulaanbaatar visit.
It is a strategy to strengthen relations with democracies in Asia and the West, which the Mongolians ultimately hope will stave off the threat of invasion from Beijing or Moscow, though nobody wishes to antagonize these authoritarian neighbors. “We believe in human rights, freedom of speech and democracy,” says Jargalsaikhan Dambadarjaa, a well-known journalist in the capital. “Whoever agrees with these values is our friend — but we’re not going to punch anybody who disagrees with them and nor do we want them to punch us.”
[They had better tread carefully. Either Russia or China could easily conquer Mongolia, and only the apparent lack of easy success in Ukraine would restrain Putin. Xi Jinping will just rely on the threat to force Mongolia to toe the line. There’s an argument to make about a diplomatic alliance with Mongolia as a counterweight to both countries, but that could backfire on the Mongolians. — Ed]
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