Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Masahiro Kawai and Ganeshan Wignaraja, ADBI
Today Asia is a world leader in free trade agreements (FTAs) with 76 concluded agreements as of April 2013. With this high number of FTAs, Asian economies face key challenges regarding their use, scope, and impact on regionalisation trends. Read more…
Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, East Asia Forum
No matter how one looks at the numbers, the Asian economies are bound to have a central role in the global economy this century.
This fact has many implications. First, it suggests where the opportunities for growth are going to be in the world economy over the coming decades. Read more…
Authors: Melissa Conley Tyler and Samantha Shearman, AIIA
With the release of the Defence White Paper 2013 on 3 May, Australia officially has a new region, the ‘Indo-Pacific’: a strategic arc ‘connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans through Southeast Asia’.
Given the long history of linking Australian foreign policy to the ‘Asia-Pacific’, this is a significant change in terminology. How did we get to this point and what are the implications? Read more…
Author: Frans-Paul van der Putten, Clingendael Institute
One of the most enduring aspects of the global system of international relations has been the divide in terms of power and wealth between the West and the developing world. The rise of China, which combines the features of a developing country with those of an emerging superpower, is affecting the West’s position in the developing world.
Author: Ganeshan Wignaraja, ADBI
Mega-regional trade deals are in vogue.
Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are grabbing headlines around the world. Meanwhile, Asia’s own mega-regional trade deal — the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — is quietly being negotiated. Read more…
Author: Aurelia George Mulgan, UNSW Canberra
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe successfully stared down opposition from the domestic farm lobby and his own ruling party to take Japan into the TPP negotiations. The other half of the equation — gaining the consent of TPP negotiating countries to Japan’s entry — was sealed at the recent APEC ministerial meeting in Indonesia.
But what does Japan’s largest trading partner, China, think of these developments? Read more…
Author: Morten B. Pedersen, UNSW, Canberra
Myanmar is in the midst of momentous political change, which has seen the country emerge from decades of repressive military rule and international isolation to be lauded by Western leaders as a model of political development.
While not a democracy yet, the new quasi-civilian government has brought the opposition into parliament and revitalised the country’s political life. Read more…
Authors: Jusuf Wanandi, CSIS, and Tan Khee Giap, NUS
Almost 20 years ago, leaders of the Asia Pacific met in Bogor to ‘chart the future course of our economic cooperation, which will enhance the prospects of an accelerated, balanced and equitable economic growth not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but throughout the world’.
Author: Robert G. Wirsing, Georgetown
If one were on the lookout for the region with the most meagre potential for cooperative management of its transboundary river basins, South Asia would be a strong contender.
Authors: Jochen Prantl, NUS, and Petr Blizkovsky, Consilium
Asia and Europe have no choice but to listen carefully to and learn from each other in dealing with the repercussions of the European sovereign debt crisis.
There is much at stake. Read more…
Author: David Arase, Nanjing University
Soon after taking power at the 18th Party Congress, Xi Jinping ceremoniously led the new Politburo Standing Committee to view a museum exhibit in Beijing entitled ‘The Road to Renewal’ (复兴之路).
It chronicled China’s descent into the ‘century of humiliation’ following the Opium War and, since 1949, its subsequent revival and rise to power under the leadership of the Communist Party. Read more…
Author: Mahani Zainal Abidin, ISIS
The recent upping of the ante by China in the disputed South China Sea and the flexing of its maritime muscle has underlined the dilemma faced by many countries in the region: how can countries in Asia expand and deepen economic links and interdependence when political tension is rising?
Author: Chayut Setboonsarng, CARI
The induction of China’s ‘fifth generation’ of leaders has observers around the world anticipating the effect of their new policies.
Author: Beginda Pakpahan, UI
Competition appears likely to emerge between ASEAN’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), an agreement to launch negotiations for which was reached at the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Phnom Penh on 20 November, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Author: Beginda Pakpahan, UI
On 8 August 2012 ASEAN celebrated its 45th year. As a mature regional economic organisation, ASEAN can act as a potential stabiliser in Southeast and East Asia. ASEAN’s internal developments affect developments in the East Asian region, so the association stands to consolidate this influence by promoting the resolution of the South China Sea issue and supporting Myanmar’s transition to democracy and economic development.