Author: Jennifer Chen, CSIS

In its diplomacy with Cambodia, Beijing has once again proved to Washington that it will continue to pursue an active, practical, and possibly manipulative, role in Southeast Asia. The US must change its approach if it is to be an effective actor in the region.

Since the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) went into effect on January 1, 2010, China and the Southeast Asian nations have gradually expanded their areas of cooperation. The Southeast Asian nations that have been least effective in diversifying their economic dependencies—namely Cambodia and Laos—have been particularly receptive to Chinese patronage. Cambodia, which has always maintained close historical and trade relations with China, was one of the first to fall to the Chinese charm. Read more…

Author: Michito Tsuruoka, NIDS

Does ASEM remain relevant in today’s world? On October 4 and 5, nearly 50 heads of state and government from Europe and the Asia-Pacific will assemble for the 8th biennial summit meeting of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Brussels. But the meeting is receiving little coverage from the international press, and is likely to experience low participation rates to ASEM ministerial meetings, to which many mere deputies are sent.

Launched in 1996, ASEM’s aim was to provide a bridge between Europe and Asia. Europeans eagerly sought to catch up to the US and Japan in negotiating with emerging Asia. Whilst major European countries had previous relationships with ASEAN and some regional countries before ASEM, these relationships were outdated and not suited for a new era of dynamic, equitable partnerships. In turn, Asians wanted a new relationship with Europe to expand foreign relations and diversify export markets.

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Author: Rajiv Kumar, ICRIER

Agriculture has emerged as the key constraint to achieving rapid growth and improving equity in India. It is also clear that while land, the principal productive asset, is almost entirely under private ownership, the sector is characterised by extensive government intervention and a visible lack of large-scale corporate investment.

As a result of insufficient investment, the agricultural sector – except perhaps in the Punjab, Haryana and the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh – remains backward. Read more…