Will Russia ‘punish’ Singapore, Japan and others with cyberattacks, trade restrictions?

Some Asian states have been listed as ‘unfriendly’ to Moscow after they joined the West in imposing sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war

While the Kremlin has remained largely silent about Asia’s response, analysts say the region is not ruling out the possibility of a reprisal

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Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Published: 12:00pm, 2 Jul 2022Updated: 11:36pm, 3 Jul 2022

When Singapore joined the West in imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, its government landed in a list of administrations deemed “unfriendly” by Moscow.

The list – mostly made up of the United States and its allies – also included the Asian economies of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Those governments, too, have levelled varying levels of economic sanctions on Russia and appear to have accelerated their support for Ukraine in recent days.

In Taiwan, the self-ruled island viewed by Beijing as a renegade province, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu last week pledged a US$500,000 donation to rebuild the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where “some of the worst war crimes” were taking place.

Japan just banned Russian gold exports and expanded its sanctions to Russian oligarchs, and Singapore deployed ambulances, mine detectors and fire engines to Ukraine at its request.

While the Kremlin has remained largely silent about Asia’s response to its operations in Ukraine, analysts said the region was not ruling out the possibility of a reprisal.

Such a move could come in the form of trade sanctions or sophisticated cyber attacks that Moscow has been notorious for, the observers suggested.

Russia’s envoy to Japan had in February warned Moscow was ready to retaliate against Japan’s sweeping sanctions. Among other things, Tokyo banned imports of Russian machinery and vodka and froze assets held by major Russian lenders.