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What is the attitude of China and Russia towards Outer Mongolia imitating Switzerland as a permanently neutral country, which has been 9 years without success?

Updated: Jun 17

Permanent neutrality is an effective means for many small countries to break free from international strategic disputes, pursue their own independence, and avoid falling into the quagmire of war.

Currently, there are only a few internationally recognized permanent neutral countries, after Finland and Sweden joined NATO and abandoned their permanent neutral status.


There are only six permanent neutral countries left in the world, including Switzerland, Turkmenistan, Austria, Ireland, Costa Rica, and the Vatican.

Among them, Switzerland was the world's first permanent neutral country, which was collectively recognized and guaranteed by the major powers at the Vienna Conference in 1815, while Turkmenistan was the only permanent neutral country approved by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1995.

In addition, there is another country that dreams of becoming a permanent neutral country but has yet to realize it, and it is Outer Mongolia.


As early as September 7, 2015, Mongolian President Elbegdorj publicly proposed the idea of Mongolia becoming a "permanent neutral state" during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

At that time, the pursuit of permanent neutrality in Outer Mongolia was a hot topic, with everyone talking and various international conferences mentioning this policy as the top priority.

However, 9 years have passed and Outer Mongolia's permanent neutral status has not yet been implemented. Apart from Outer Mongolia's own statement to follow Switzerland and become a permanent neutral country, the international community has not formed a consensus on this.


Like Turkmenistan, which declared independence from the Soviet Union on October 27, 1991 and joined the United Nations in March of the following year, it was approved as a permanent neutral state by the 50th United Nations General Assembly in just three to four years.

Obviously, the permanent neutrality target of Outer Mongolia has actually gone bankrupt, and now Outer Mongolia has basically stopped mentioning permanent neutrality, making the previous permanent neutrality target a thing of the past.


This is indeed awkward and a helpless blow for Outer Mongolia.

Because Mongolia's pursuit of becoming a "permanent neutral state" is mainly based on considerations of national security and diplomatic pressure reduction, and in fact, it is still related to China and Russia, that is, to break free from the so-called constraints of its two major neighbors in the north and south, in order to comfort its narrow guard.


On the one hand, Outer Mongolia is surrounded by two major powers, China and Russia. Against the backdrop of its small population, low economic strength, and heavy dependence on imports, Outer Mongolia has developed a natural sense of security inferiority.

On the other hand, the historical entanglement between Outer Mongolia and China and Russia has also made them uneasy.


During the Cold War, Outer Mongolia was a satellite country of the Soviet Union and was heavily controlled by the Soviet Union. Especially after the deterioration of Sino Soviet relations, the Soviet army stationed a large number of troops in Outer Mongolia, with a maximum of 150000 people, forming an actual military occupation of Outer Mongolia, which became a psychological shadow that was difficult to heal for both the upper and lower levels of Outer Mongolia.

During the period of the Republic of China and before, Outer Mongolia was also a part of China's territory, and now China is Outer Mongolia's largest trading partner. Some people in Outer Mongolia are concerned that relying too much on China may endanger their own security.


The "Third Neighbor" policy vigorously promoted by Outer Mongolia is also an important practice in seeking to build balanced diplomatic relations, avoiding excessive dependence on a particular country and falling into international disputes, which has certain similarities with the "Permanent Neutrality" policy.

Since Outer Mongolia yearns for permanent neutrality so much, why hasn't its dream come true after nearly a decade?


In fact, the permanent neutrality pursued by Outer Mongolia has not reached a nationwide consensus, with some agreeing and others opposing.


Those who agree believe that Outer Mongolia is located in Northeast Asia, and there are territorial disputes between Russia, Japan, and China and Japan. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is often tense, and once a war occurs, it is difficult to stand alone.

Only by maintaining a neutral position in Outer Mongolia can we avoid the dilemma of choosing sides and standing in line.


Opponents believe that Outer Mongolia is a small country surrounded by China and Russia, and will not be threatened by other countries. China and Russia pursue a friendly policy towards Outer Mongolia, while Outer Mongolia implements a balanced foreign policy towards China and Russia.


In addition, the strategy of "third neighboring countries", if permanent neutrality is implemented, will limit Outer Mongolia's foreign exchanges and instead constrain diplomatic space.


However, the most crucial thing is that Outer Mongolia itself has not reached the standard of permanent neutrality.

The condition for permanent neutrality is to promise not to participate in military alliance groups (except for resisting attacks) and not to assume the obligation of indirectly being involved in war.


More strictly speaking, one should also refrain from participating in organizations with military nature, activities of military alliance groups, and refrain from conducting bilateral or multilateral military exercises with other countries as much as possible.


A typical example is Turkmenistan, which, after obtaining permanent neutrality, not only withdrew from the Russian led Commonwealth of Independent States, but also did not participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, nor did it engage in confrontational military exercises with any country.

On the other hand, what about Outer Mongolia?


Outer Mongolia is the first observer country of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is an international organization led by China and Russia, with military cooperation in the field.


Although Outer Mongolia strives to avoid becoming a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and intends to maintain a distance from the organization, it still gives the outside world the illusion of a military alliance.

In addition, the military relations between Outer Mongolia and the United States, Europe, and the West, especially the collusion with NATO.


As early as 2003, Outer Mongolia and the United States conducted their first bilateral military exercise on the "Khan Exploration"; In 2005, the Outer Mongolian military participated in NATO's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

In 2010, Outer Mongolia became the 45th country under the NATO framework to send troops to Afghanistan, and even attended the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting; Even more surprisingly, Outer Mongolia established a "global partnership" with NATO in 2012.


The Kosovo War and the Afghanistan War were both illegally launched by NATO without authorization from the United Nations Security Council, and it was not appropriate for Outer Mongolia to participate in them.

So, the military performance of Outer Mongolia does not conform to the posture that a permanently neutral country should have.


This is also the reason why many countries around the world are still unwilling to recognize and support Outer Mongolia as a permanently neutral country, and the two major neighbors of Outer Mongolia, North and South, have not publicly expressed their support or opposition, and are basically in a state of silence.

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