Development of the Mekong Region as Part of Japan's Diplomatic Strategy for East Asia

Japan's active engagement in the development of the Mekong region since the 1990s needs to be understood not only from an economic but also from a diplomatic perspective. Japan seeks to collaborate with ASEAN in facilitating multilateral “political dialogue” in the Asia-Pacific region and building an East Asian order based on “universal values” such as democracy and the rule of law, and the Mekong region could be the “weakest link” of ASEAN. After outlining Japan's twenty-year undertaking to cultivate Mekong-Japan cooperation, the author suggests that it is time to broaden the scope of the cooperation and accelerate Japan's “proactive contribution to peace” policy to cope with the changing security environment.     

East Asia's new economic integration strategy: Moving beyond the FTA

After the Asian currency crisis, a number of cooperative efforts within an ASEAN?+?3 (APT) framework and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the countries were implemented side-by-side in East Asia.1 1. ASEAN?+?3 meetings were started in 1997 at the ASEAN 30^th anniversary meeting, to which Japan, Korea, and China were invited. Naturally, the motivation for regional cooperation was heightened in the face of the crisis. View all notes An East Asia Summit is scheduled for the end of 2005. If a summit were held, Japan, China, and Korea would be able to participate in regional cooperation along with ASEAN, as equal partners rather than guests, and the discussion about forming a community, the East Asia Community, would reach a new stage.2 2. The exact definition of “East Asian Community” is not necessarily clear, but at the ASEAN business investment summit in October 2004, Prime Minister Koizumi said in his speech that strengthening FTAs and other economic cooperation, implementing joint economic reforms, and closing the development gap were some of the issues that needed to be addressed when building a community. However, there has not been any discussion about the organization of the East Asian Community, such as establishment of treaties or an office. View all notes However, compared to the largely unobjectionable strengthening of “cooperation,” free trade under an official FTA might require adjusting various economic interests, and there is no guarantee that the merits of free trade will outweigh the costs of these adjustments.3 3. It is well known that WTO Article 24 is essentially an FTA agreement, requiring that “substantially all” trade restrictions be lifted within 10 years, but developing countries are exempt from this particular requirement through an enabling clause. The definition of “substantially all” is itself vague, and because of the enabling clause, the majority of FTAs between developing countries are limited to low-level FTAs. The FTA between China and ASEAN is also subject to an enabling clause. View all notes If for a number of reasons the FTA never goes beyond an APEC-style “voluntarism,” the East Asian economic integration on which the community will be built will be a long time coming. For integration to move steadily forward, a new approach is needed that is different from that of the West and that reflects the political and economic structure of East Asia. This paper addresses the issues and dilemmas that have emerged from the complex FTA negotiations in recent years, and proposes a new integrated approach that reflects the structure of East Asia.     

区域治理视域下的东盟环境问题

环境问题是区域治理的重要组成部分.20世纪80年代以来,环境问题已成为影响东盟社会经济可持续发展的重要因素之一,平衡经济增长与环境的可持续性成为东盟必须认真考虑解决的问题.为应对日益恶化的环境问题,东盟建立了不少合作机制,签署了若干宣言、倡议和协定,并积极与域外国家和环境组织开展合作,然而治理成效还是有限.从东盟存在的环境问题、合作机制和面临的挑战来看,制约东盟环境治理成效的因素,既有东盟层面的,也有东盟成员国层面的.东盟的环境治理尚未摆脱以国家为核心的传统治理模式,区域间缺乏有效的协调与合作,导致治理成效不佳.其中,"东盟方式"是最大的障碍,如何突破"不干涉成员国内政"这一原则的限制,将是东盟环境合作能否取得成效的关键.东盟治理能力的缺陷和缺乏有效的危机应急管理机制、区域意识淡薄、区域合作治理意志与决心不强、集体行动迟缓,说明东盟仍只是一个松散的国家集团.因此,如何协调政治—安全、经济、社会一文化三大支柱之间的关系,实现经济与环境的可持续发展,东盟还有很长的路要走.     

日本与东盟双边贸易状况的实证分析

日本与东盟双边贸易的状况影响着东亚一体化的进程,本文主要选用1994—2003年的数据,运用一些指标对日本与东盟主要国家的贸易状况进行了实证分析。从中发现:日本与东盟主要国家在贸易方面的联系很紧密,尤其是日本在贸易方面对东盟的依赖程度较强,且日本与东盟主要国家产业内互补的贸易有所增加,但增长较慢;双方贸易增长主要来源于对方市场的扩大。     

Mega-Regional Trade Deals in the Asia-Pacific: Choosing Between the TPP and RCEP?

The emergence of “mega-regional” trade agreements has recently become the most significant trade policy issue in the Asia-Pacific. Since 2010, governments in the region have launched negotiations for two new trade agreements: the United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Differentiated by their membership, scope and level of ambition, the TPP and RCEP embody competing visions for how the Asia-Pacific trade system should evolve, and regional governments must now make choices over which initiative better serves their economic and political interests. This article explores the trade policy choice posed by these mega-regional trade negotiations, reviewing the evolution of the Asia-Pacific trade system, the recent emergence of the TPP and RCEP, and the competitive dynamics inherent in the development of the two proposals. It argues that four key considerations (trade policy ambition, the role of ASEAN, US-China geopolitical rivalry and defensive concerns) will be of key importance in informing regional governments’ decisions as the TPP and RCEP move towards completion in 2015.     

广东“东盟战略”及其与新马的经贸合作

广东在中国与东盟的贸易中占有1/3左右的份额,而对这一领域的最新研究还较少,所以有必要从广东"东盟战略"的角度研究其与东盟的两大贸易合作伙伴新加坡和马来西亚的经贸合作.本文首先分析了近年广东与东盟的经贸关系,并在此基础上探讨了如何解读和践行广东的"东盟战略".接着重点分析了广东与新马经贸合作的表现与原因,探讨这种合作对广东与新马合作的意义.最后,在结论部分提出若干促进广东"东盟战略"和推进其与新马经贸合作的建议.     

广东—东盟贸易:成就、挑战与对策

凭借天时、地利与人和的条件,广东与东盟国家的贸易一直是中国-东盟贸易的中坚力量,特别是在中国加入世贸以及中国-东盟自由贸易区协议出台以来,广东与东盟国家的贸易突飞猛进,取得了长足的进步.但是,由于其他省份的主观努力、广东外贸的自我定位等因素,近年来广东-东盟贸易在整个中国-东盟贸易中的相对地位持续衰落.为此,作者提出了广东应具有东盟战略意识,发挥传统优势,抓住中国-东盟自由贸易区的商机以及注重"走出去"等政策建议,期盼广东-东盟贸易取得更大发展.     

ASEAN and the Creation of a Regional Community

After the ASEAN Concord II called for the building of an ASEAN Community in 2003, the creation of an ASEAN Community became a concrete part of the political agenda for the nations of Southeast Asia, and an ASEAN Community is scheduled to be created in 2015. However, it will all be for naught if the ASEAN Community that is established does not truly contribute to the stability and prosperity of the region. From this point of view, the article will attempt to evaluate the development of an ASEAN community concept and efforts to create it. To clarify the ideal of a true community, this article will take up Karl Deutsch's concept of “pluralistic security communities” and reconsider what a community requires. The article will state that the efforts to create an ASEAN Community should not be underestimated, and the blueprints for the creation of the ASEAN Community outline the formation of a true regional community. It will, however, conclude that in reality there exist factors within the ASEAN region that may shake the development of an ASEAN Community. It has to be said that the fostering of a sense of community at the level of ordinary people, as well as the creation of a community in which fundamental values and norms are shared, are distant propositions.     

美国与东盟国家自由贸易协定计划的提出与实施

美国出于政治和经济需要提出了"发起东盟事业倡议"计划,其实质是美国准备与东盟国家签署一系列的自由贸易协定.美国与东盟关系中存在着显而易见的"中国因素".美国"发起东盟事业倡议"是要巩固美国在东盟的存在,抵消中国的影响.在东盟的对外经贸关系中,美国占据重要地位.美国希望借助"发起东盟事业倡议",与东盟国家签署一系列自由贸易协定,来进一步扩大与东盟经贸关系.新加坡是东盟国家和亚洲国家中第一个与美国签署自由贸易协定的国家,目前美国还正在与泰国和马来西亚进行自由贸易协定的谈判.本文的目的是通过这一情况的介绍使我们更加深刻理解中国与东盟建立自由贸易区的必要性和急迫性.     

东盟区域经济合作的投资效应研究

在2002年东盟自由贸易区建成之际,学术界用各种指标深入分析了其贸易效应。但东盟发展的目标却是要成为一个具有竞争力的投资区。因而要更好地理解和评价东盟区域经济合作,必须对其直接投资效果也进行分析。本文通过回顾20世纪90年代以来东盟吸收FDI的变化,考察了东盟区域经济合作的直接投资效应,并重点分析了其投资效应不显著的原因在于其对东盟综合区位优势的改善不明显,并没有有效地提高东盟区域整体竞争力。     

东盟国家对外贸易及其结构的变化

二战后,东盟国家的对外贸易迅速发展。近年来,各国对外贸易的商品结构和市场分布均发生了一系列重大变化。同时,东盟国家在世界货物和服务贸易中的地位有所提升。     

Third Worldist relativism: A new form of imperialism

This article challenges relativist and Third Worldist ideas which continue to influence the Left. It is argued that while the Left should remain critical of western domination of the global political economy, this should not be confused with the assumption that anti-western positions in the “Third World” are always and necessarily progressive. This is illustrated by a discussion of recent western interventions in the Third World. It is argued that a “Third Worldist” approach is based on a spurious relativism which has recently enjoyed a revival through the rise of post-modern social theory. In rejecting these approaches the case is made for a restatement of a genuine universalism and internationalism, which is equally critical of western imperialism and conflicts with the “Third World.”     

Providers Not Protectors: Institutionalizing Responsible Sovereignty in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Despite their declaratory support for the United Nations' adoption of the “responsibility to protect” (R2P) principle, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) governments nonetheless reject the UN proposition that military intervention can and should be employed for implementing the R2P. However, this reluctance has not precluded the development of an ethic of responsible sovereignty in Southeast Asia. But rather than responsibility as protection as assumed by the R2P, ASEAN countries arguably define responsibility in terms of provision for the well-being of their populaces. The development of such an ethic in Southeast Asia has been uneven as evidenced by the Myanmar government's initial reluctance to receive foreign humanitarian assistance following Cyclone Nargis in 2008. That said, as the contemporary policy debate and regional institutional developments in Southeast Asia together attest, an ethic of responsible provision is emerging among ASEAN states.     

The Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia: Can ASEAN Reconcile Humanitarianism and Sovereignty?

Abstract

This article explores how relevant the “Responsibility to Protect” (RtoP) principle is in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is usually thought of as a region that is highly resistant to external “interference” in its domestic affairs and relatively impervious to the influence of externally generated norms. The article explores the potential relevance of RtoP through an analysis of the impact of Cyclone Nargis on Myanmar. Although the military regime in Myanmar was initially resistant to external intervention, pressure from both the United Nations and especially fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) caused the regime to change its behavior. The authors argue that this marks an important shift in intra-ASEAN relations and suggests that even in Southeast Asia where sovereignty is still jealously guarded, external norms and ideas can have a decisive impact in propitious circumstances.     

China’s Bargaining Strategies for a Peaceful Rise: Successes and Challenges

Applying bargaining theory of international conflicts, we examine the successes and challenges of China’s strategic choices in its ascent after the Cold War. We suggest that China needs to alleviate information and commitment problems in order to rise peacefully. Since 2008, China’s “peaceful rise” strategy has faced serious challenges because of its “assertive turn” in diplomacy. We argue that China has not alleviated or settled these two problems successfully because of its ambiguous “core interest” diplomacy and undecided attitude regarding multilateral institutions in resolving the maritime disputes. China should engage in rule-based, institution building, such as a security community between China and ASEAN, to reinforce its peaceful rise commitments.     

Towards a model of asian plantation systems

This article is about the Shan opium-heroin problem which figures largely in many journalistic and academic accounts of political events in Burma, but which has, paradoxically, been neglected. Rather, it has been “hollywoodized” with images of “opium” armies, heroin “empires,” colorful drug “kings,” and warlord-princes, etc., to the extent that it has more or less become but a dramatic backdrop, an “exotic unknowable.” This article is a more mundane account of the opium-heroin phenomenon. I will deal with it from the economic-political perspective, with particular focus on the basic mechanism of the Shan opium-heroin industry. Specifically, I will deal with the actors involved and their role in what is the only viable and integrated (locally and internationally) industry to emerge from Burma in the over three decades of military rule. My contention, in sum, is that the Shan opium-heroin issue constitutes only a part of the regional and global informal complex of investment, trade, and profit, in which are involved a host of non-Shan actors, whose interests are primarily economic; that basically, it is a transnational/global agro-business, no different, in substance and dynamics, from any other lucrative agro-business; and that Shan peasants, and to some extent, rebel armies, cannot be in any way regarded as “winners” in, or the main beneficiaries of, the “illegal” and “unregulated” informal economy of investment, trade, and profit, that spans borders, regions, and oceans.     

东盟区域服务贸易自由化:特点与前景

在全球和区域服务贸易自由化浪潮中,东盟加快了区域服务贸易自由化进程.本文基于东盟区域服务贸易自由化进展情况,从合作机制、自由化模式等角度分析东盟区域服务贸易自由化的特点,并对其前景进行预测.     

Moving Up the Value Chain in ICT: ASEAN Trade With China

The rise of China increased competition for foreign direct investment and exports for the ASEAN economies. It also increased ASEAN trade with China. But, are ASEAN countries able to move up the value chain in their trade with China? The objectives of this article are to examine upgrading in the information and communications technology (ICT) value chain through changes in the product quality of parts and components (PNC) exports from ASEAN to China and the influence of these changes on their ICT trade with China. The main findings indicate that there is little or no product upgrading in the most important SITC 776 sub-component of the PNC exports from the four major ASEAN economies (ASEAN-4) to China after 2005. It is also found that improvements in product quality are more apparent for SITC 772 but this product group constitutes a small share in total manufactured exports from the ASEAN-4 to China. Lastly, with little or no product upgrading, exporters from the ASEAN-4 have shifted to exports of non-PNC goods to China. This shift has enabled the overall ICT exports from the ASEAN-4 to China to continue to grow for the period of this study.     

Emerging New East Asian Regionalism

East Asian regionalism is emerging starting with a process of “ASEAN plus three” cooperation and moving to a final East Asian Community. The foundation of East Asian regionalism lies in increasing regional common or shared interests. The significance of East Asian cooperation and integration is its developing process. “10?+?3” framework is not just an economic cooperation process but also has political significance. The process of East Asian cooperation plays a dual role in community building: reconciliation among the countries, and cultivation of each member itself. The major role of regional institutional building is peace making through cooperation under a regional framework. The cooperation between China and Japan is crucial for East Asian Community building.     

APEC,globalization, and 9/11

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) has, in the main, been based on attempts to advance neoliberal ideas about economic governance, although this has stimulated a great deal of controversy and resistance. Having failed—despite much effort—to entrench neoliberalism within APEC the United States and other “Western” members of APEC are now “securitizing” economic policy in an effort to reconfigure the Asia Pacific along lines favored by major capitalist players in the region. Critics argue that this securitization of economics is simply a tactical effort to bring in through the back door policies that APEC members have resisted in the past. Faced with the prospect of not getting its own way through straight trade negotiations within APEC, Washington appears to be promoting measures — “urgently needed in the name of security”—that might never have been accepted otherwise. At the same time, a twin strategy of pursuing bilateral trade negotiations with key APEC states is threatening the multilateral nature of the body, further emasculating APEC's position as a serious trade body.