Turkey’s Far East policy in the era of the AK Party
by
ABDULKADİR EMİN ÖNEN*

With the policies implemented during the seven-year period from 2003 to 2010, Turkey has evolved into a regional power and a global player capable of pursuing policies on a continental scale. Then, based on its strong footing in Asia, Turkey has had the opportunity to produce continental scale policies toward the Far East, i.e., South and East Asian regions. Turkey’s application to sign a friendship and cooperation agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) forms a part of this broadly envisioned policy. Moreover, Turkey also took over the term presidency of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in 2010, thereby obtaining an important instrument to increase its effectiveness in Asia. In the final analysis, Turkey feels the need to pursue a policy that does not disrupt the balances in Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions in order to avert any debates on axial shift. This need is further intensified by Turkey’s unique geographical location, connecting two continents and many seas simultaneously.

In this context, the members of the AK Party government rushed to the region, paying visits to the countries in Asia in frequencies never seen before.

A win-win policy

The AK Party government has adopted one of its basic principles to develop or improve relations with Asian countries in line with a win-win policy. Thus, the main target is to strengthen relations and cooperation with Asian countries and improve commercial ties and trade volume. Indeed, given the bilateral relations between Turkey and the countries in the region, Turkey’s trade volume with Asian countries increased by 25-30 percent between 2002 and 2009. This is proof that the AK Party government has oriented its Asian policy primarily along economic and commercial concerns under its win-win strategy. Obviously, by improving relations with Asian countries, Turkey aims to boost the country’s exports. During the AK Party period, Turkey has improved its ties with Far East countries, has paid visits to them in greater numbers and has overcome geographical distance.

Trade volume between Turkey and Russia increased from $4.5 billion in 2000 to $40 billion in 2009. The trade volume between Turkey and China rose by 40 percent to $17 billion during the AK Party period, thereby making China Turkey’s biggest trade partner in the Southeast. Trade with India soared to $3 billion in 2008, a huge increase from $795 million in 2003. Trade volume with Australia has increased by 33 percent to reach $1 billion, and with Indonesia, it increased by 64 percent compared to the previous year to reach $1.7 billion in 2008. Thus, by improving its trade relations with Asian countries, Turkey has made great progress in becoming an influential country in Asia.

As part of its foreign policy initiatives, the AK Party government also facilitated state-owned Turkish Airlines (THY) to begin flying to Asia. Today, THY has regular flights to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in China, Jakarta in Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Karachi in Pakistan, Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan, Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Seoul in South Korea. Moreover, the number of Asian countries -- in addition to the Middle Eastern and African countries -- that do not demand visas from Turkish citizens is increasing. These include Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

In conclusion, it can be argued that the AK Party’s foreign policy has adopted an economically and politically oriented approach to Asia. Turkey maintains a keen interest in the developments in Asia. As a country with economic and political interests in Asia, Turkey makes its presence felt by becoming part of international organizations, and it can be suggested that Turkey will realize its role as a global player in this manner.