ABSTRACT
Soviet strategy toward Asia should only be viewed in the context of Soviet strategy for all of Eurasia. Only the Soviet Union's overwhelming military power has commanded respect from Asian countries and has had some political effect. The Soviet Asian strategy was developed through the 1970s and took the form of the "Asian Collective Security System." Confronted with the intensification of conflict with China in the 1960s, the Soviet Union had strong motives to station Warsaw Pact troops along the Sino-Soviet border. The Soviet Union provided the model of the Soviet-Mongolian Mutual Assistance Treaty which included an agreement of military assistance and pressured the other East European countries to follow suit, concluding similar treaties. The development of the Soviet doctrine of collective security in Asia paralleled the Soviet military buildup in the Far East. A strengthened Soviet naval force and large air transport forces are the main arteries which utilize the network of friendship treaties scattered over the Eurasian-African landmass.
