سیاست خارجی ترکیه در تعامل با چین و ژاپن: از موازنه‌گری تا خودمختاری راهبردی

Introduction and Statement of the Problem
In recent decades, Turkish foreign policy has faced structural challenges arising from transformations in the international order as well as growing tensions in Ankara’s relations with the West. At the same time, the shift in the global center of power toward East Asia has encouraged Turkey to reorient its traditional foreign policy doctrine toward a strategy of strategic adaptation. Beyond the simplistic narrative of a “Pivot to the East,” the central question of this study is how Turkey, through the simultaneous management of its relations with China and Japan, seeks to reduce one-dimensional dependencies and expand its strategic room for maneuver in the international system. This study argues that engagement with East Asian powers is not an ideological choice, but rather a strategic necessity aimed at strengthening strategic autonomy and diversifying networks of interdependence.
 
Research Objective
The objective of this study is to analyze Turkey’s behavioral pattern in East Asia and to examine the hypothesis that Ankara, by adopting a strategy of dynamic balancing between the two competing poles of East Asia—China and Japan—seeks to create a supportive framework for enhancing its room for maneuver and reducing its economic and political vulnerabilities.
 
Methodology
This study employs an analytical-descriptive approach and relies on primary sources, strategic documents, and expert analyses to examine the patterns of Turkey’s bilateral interactions with China and Japan. The theoretical framework is grounded in the concepts of strategic adaptation, balancing, and strategic autonomy, enabling the study to explain Turkey’s transformation from a state constrained by alliance structures into an active and multilayered foreign policy actor.
 
Findings
The findings demonstrate that Turkey’s foreign policy in East Asia is based on a functional differentiation between China and Japan.
 
First, Turkey’s engagement with China is primarily driven by geoeconomic considerations and pragmatic crisis management. Ankara views China as an essential source of infrastructure investment, liquidity, and financial cooperation, particularly within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Through these ties, Turkey seeks to increase its resilience against domestic currency and financial crises. The findings further indicate that Ankara’s approach to the Uyghur issue reflects a calculated political compromise, whereby economic and strategic interests take precedence over identity-based or ideological concerns in order to preserve the flow of Chinese capital and technology.
 
Second, Turkey’s engagement with Japan extends beyond the economic sphere and includes technological, institutional, and legitimacy-oriented dimensions. Japan functions for Turkey as a gateway to the economic and security architecture of East Asia. Technical and engineering cooperation, participation in advanced infrastructure projects, and the political credibility associated with Tokyo enable Ankara to reduce exclusive dependence on China’s financial power while simultaneously consolidating its position as a legitimate and credible actor within Asian regional networks.
 
Third, the strategic synthesis of these relationships suggests that Turkey is constructing a network of interdependence by linking these two distinct and partly competing Asian poles. This strategy prevents either side from exercising hegemonic influence over Turkish foreign policy and, at the same time, provides Ankara with the ability to draw upon the capacities of both powers in order to enhance its strategic leverage vis-à-vis the West and the broader Middle East.
 
Conclusion
This study concludes that Turkey’s activism in East Asia constitutes a clear manifestation of strategic adaptation within a global order in transition. Turkey is not seeking a rupture with its Western alliances; rather, it is pursuing a form of strategic independence. Within this doctrine, relations with China and Japan perform complementary functions: China serves as a provider of short-term economic and financial resources, while Japan acts as a strategic partner for technological advancement and political legitimation. East Asia, therefore, should not be understood by Ankara as a substitute for the West, but as a set of strategic anchor points that help preserve balance, diversify dependencies, and secure Turkey’s autonomous agency in international politics.