ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Soviet behavior in the Asian-Pacific region as a test of the extent to which Mikhail Gorbachev's words are being translated into actual deeds. Furthermore, one wonders how high the Asian-Pacific region has ranked in Gorbachev's current list of foreign policy objectives, and how soon the Soviet leadership intends to apply the new thinking to this area. In fact, Gorbachev simultaneously stressed two principles– namely, equal security and mutual security. If we thus assume that equality and equal security remain a principle of the Soviet foreign and security policy, two questions arise: the first concerns the relationship between the new thinking and equality and equal security, and the second concerns the relationship between global and regional security. The ultimate objective of the Soviet Union has remained the same; i.e., to increase its political-diplomatic influence in the Asian-Pacific region.
