Explainer | Ukraine war: What is Asia buying from Russia and can commodities be resold to sidestep sanctions?
- Japan, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have all joined the Western-led effort to economically isolate Russia for invading Ukraine
- But India, Indonesia and China are among those finding opportunity in the crisis – as analysts warn sanctions have turned global trade ‘bipolar’
Being far removed from the conflict, the region is suffering less economic turbulence than Europe, which has more economic links to Russia and is heavily reliant on its energy and supplies of raw materials.
Some countries in Asia have even benefited economically. India, for one, has continued buying crude from Russia at discounted prices amid moves by the US to ban all Russian oil and gas imports. Britain has said it is phasing out Russian oil imports while the European Union is aiming to wean itself off Russian energy by 2027.
Here we take a look at what Asian economies are buying from Russia, and what this means for calls to isolate Moscow economically.
What sanctions has Asia imposed?
The assets of Russians in Japan have also been frozen and it joined other countries in removing some Russian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system.