Pledges on economic, agriculture, labor and tourism-related issues: ensuring the resilience of supply chain, coordination for preservation, transport and distribution technologies and infrastructure to reduce food insecurity, supporting the development and implementation of a post-COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Plan to build up ASEAN tourism capabilities; and addressing the impact of COVID-19 on labour and employment. However, there are shortcomings in the Regional response on the pandemic, by far the regional commitments on the meetings barely matched up with the actions on the ground. Firstly, the coordinated regional response was difficult because of the different levels of infections, specifics national responses and political will. For instance, the responses of Singapore and Vietnam, cited as global success, were quite different from that of other countries. that lack interest in combating the disease. Secondly, the pandemic itself results in vastly fundamental tensions. The global health threat needs greater coordination and cooperation within countries in a region, however, the generic responses to the crisis focused on lockdowns and border restrictions, which undermines regional integration. The lockdowns and border closures rendered migrant workers from within the region more vulnerable and neglected. Undocumented workers like Burmese were deported from Malaysia and thousands of migrant workers from Laos and Myanmar flocking to border crossings, defying the Bangkok lockdown to return home have been jobless. The lack of social protection of the undocumented migrant workers in and from ASEAN states poses risks to their health and access to health services. Indubitably, the economic impact of Covid-19 is likely to be long-term. The Asian Development Bank assesses the economic losses in Asia and the Pacific to range between $1,7 trillion to $2.5 trillion, with the region accounting for about 30% of the overall decline in global output. The crisis henceforth calls for economic collaboration among countries within the regions to stimulate economic growth.Regional policy coordination is another challenge. Each country has an increasing stake in the sound policies of the others with countries becoming more integrated, Countries within the region can play a constructive role in encouraging each other in maintaining sound policies. On the talk given by Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Rodolfo C. Severino at the Symposium on “AFTA and Beyond” on May 30, 2002, he said that regional integration was the only way to generate sufficient economic activity, improve efficiency, heighten competition, attract investments, and thus create jobs. He said further thar Southeast Asian countries should integrate to be competitive in the global economy to counteract forces of globalization. The massive agriculture subsidies in the European Union, Japan, and United States; agricultural protection in the guise of quarantine regulations; the abuse of anti-dumping; imposition of prohibitive costs and litigation to developing countries are among the policies that strengthen the value of protectionism among the Asian countries, Thus, ASEAN has no choice but to create a strong bond to have a better chance working together in the harshly competitive world. : Challenges: ASEAN and COVID-19 ‘The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected East and Southeast Asian economies, especially by disrupting the flow of goods and services in the region's global value chains (GVCs). The impacts and implications of the pandemic on the regional economy, especially with respect to regional economic governance are widely discussed by ASEAN Leaders in various meetings to forge a more coordinated regional response. The meetings with the health officials of ASEAN member states, and the ASEAN + 3 countries (the People’s Republic of China, Japan and Republic of Korea), and between Heads of States, Foreign Ministers, Defence Ministers, Ministers for Finance, Ministers for Agriculture and Forestry, afid Ministers for Labour impelled commitments to combat against the pandemic. Outlining the commitments on related-health issues: Information sharing on detection, control and interventions; coordinating cross border health response, including contact tracing and outbreak investigation; capacity building interventions con public health emergency, scientific research, preparedness and response; strengthening early warning system for pandemics and other epidemic diseases; and Support to ensure the adequacy of essential medicines, vaccines and medical devices both within the member countries and the region, alongside with the setting up a reserve of essential medical supplies, and COVID-19 a eee oe ASEAN Response Fund for(World Trade Organization) and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and exports to countries with which that has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTA). It enacted Republic Act No. 10641 in 2014 entry of foreign banks, is allowed and legalized removing specific limits on the number of foreign bank, reopening the three modes of entry, and allowing up to 100 percent foreign ownership in an existing bank and a new banking subsidiary. New Foreign Banks Under R.A. No. 10641 Sumitomo =| ae So el] oe Ry i vite. : Challenges on Regionalization and Globalization in Asia Increasing trade and financial sector integration offers enormous benefits; however, this poses new challenges (Camdessus, 1997). One of the challenges perhaps is in frade. The openness of Asian economy encouraged competitiveness and transfer of technology. Other countries should open their economies to enjoy the benefit of trade liberalization while those already benefited must ensure that the openness is extended to new frontiers. It is important to increase transparency and free flow of information on which the service and financial sectors depend. Further, there is a need to develop effective policies for noncompetitive industries. With this, a number of countries need to improve their infrastructure, especially in transportation, telecommunications, and power supply to sustain growth. In turn, public finances should be strengthened by reducing outlays in less productive areas and regional trade initiative should be compatible with the global trade liberalization. Another challenge is in the financial flows, Stable macroeconomic policies will give confidence to financial markets and attract private savings in the domestic level and regional cooperation. Transparent and predictable regulatory policies, and reliable legal framework are essential ingredients in creating a favorable investment climate. Then the increasing pace of financial innovation and integration poses a problem. Room for policy maneuver and scope for policy mistakes are limited due to large capital flows. The regulation and supervision of Asia countries should keep pace with the complexities of the banking business. Policies should be enacted that will strengthen the banking systems without fear of aggravating banking sector gannaIn her article, Austria (2004), discussed three factors that drive the economic integration of the ASEAN: Market-led process through the international production sharing of MNCs. The unilateral and multilateral reduction of barriers to trade and invest, rapid development of transportation, and information technology made it possible to establish and set up businesses in Asian Countries. TNCs or MNCs geared their businesses to developing countries where labor-intensive segment of the production chain is located and wages are low; Institution-led process through the free trade, investment agreements, and functional cooperation. Barriers to intra regional trade were reduced due to ASEAN Free Trade Act (AF TA) which attracted the FDI-driven production networks. AFTA created an environment for MNCs to freely choose their cross-border bases and conduct their éeonomic activities, thereby allowing the exploitation of factor price within the region. Private-led process is the Sub-regional Economic Zones (SREZs) that aim to enhance the attractiveness of investment in the continuous areas by combining their advantages and exploit economic complementaries. SREZs are private sector-led with the role of national and local governments limited only to facilitating through policy framework and investment promotion. These zones are usually located within national borders of the country with their aims to increase trade and investment, create job, and establish effective administration. SS thaliana A ee ~ eo me Sena a According to former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Ceferino Rodolfo, “Asia is the most dynamic and fastest-growing region rhea ve and in Asia the most dynamic is Southeast Asia; and in Southeast Asi the set growing sub-region isthe Philippines.” The Philippines has current igreements with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), WTO3, Issues and problems of security is the third cause of delay. The issues on terrorism and boundary disputes and other problems brought some negative consequences to the progress of Asia's economic integration (Kang, 2009). The integration of East and South Asia is the product of global economic integration. According to Sally (2010), East-Asian integration is the strongest in trade in transport and machiniery which the heart of these products is processing trade {also known as fragmented or network trade). This kind of trade is trade in parts or components where different parts of the production process are located in different countries. The production chains that ended in a labor-intensive assembly operations happened mostly in China since 1990s before exported to final consumer markets in the West. Accordingly, South Asia was seen to increase in manufactured exports but dropped compared to East Asia in 1970's except in garments. With this, South Asia lacks global integration and is the least integrated region in the world. Currently, Asian countries are driven to combine their resources for economic integration for obvious reason. The ASEAN or South East Asian Nations was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. Today, there are 10 member-states of which the Philippines is one of its founding members. The gist of the aims and purposes of ASEAN is to accelerate the economic growth, promote on matters of socio-cultural interests, and maintain regional peace and prosperity. In 2007, these objectives are clearly manifested in its three pillars: ASEAN Political-Security Community; ASEAN Economic Community; and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. ASEAN has convened to form the ASEAN Community in 2015, of which its four main goals are: Single Market and Production Base; Highly- Competitive Economic Region; Equitable Economic Development; and Integration into the Global Economy (Coloso, 2015).a. Forms of Regional integration (De, M. J., Panagariya, A. (1993): 1. Modest Integration- This comes in the form of Preferential trade Agreement (PTA)-lower tariffs on imports from partners. 2. Deep Integration- This comes in the form of Common Market like’ that established by the European Community involving four dimensions -freedom for labor, firms, services, and capital. b. Types of Integration 1. Economic integration - Cooperation among countries within the region usually starts with economic integration. It is the process by which different countries come to agreement to remove trade barriers (¢-., tariffs, quotas and border restrictions) between them. 2. Political integration - Eventually political integration follows as cooperating states that have become completely integrated into a single market since there is a need for common policies in social aspect . education, health care, employment benefits, and pensions) and political institutions. ‘Single market- The midpoint between political and economic integration is single market integration where the cooperating ‘states become so integrated that all barriers are removed. It will come to a point that the countries involved are totally integrated that they will adopt a common currency with a monetary policy regulated by a single central bank, even share the same foreign policies and merge their armies (McCormick, 1999). The European Union is the best example of regional integration. They are almost nearing to the point of total integration. They have their common currency, the Euro, Who knows ifin the near future, EU will combine politically and maximize the scale of total integration. Challenges to regional integration. 1. Unbalanced economic growth - It took time for Asia to integrate economically due to, first, its unbalanced economic growth. Some countries in Asia have medium-high income (c.g., Singapore and South Korea), others are of medium-low income (e.g., Philippines and Indonesia), and low-income carers (c.g, Pakistan and Cambodia). 2. Diversified cultures, religions and customs among the people. Asia has a long history and brilliant ancient civilization but impedes the progress of integration,Important Concepts in Contemporary Regionalism A. Regionalization Regionalization is the concentration of economic flow within a region thereby binding together the region’s economy. It is a process of dividing areas into smaller segments called regions. Regionalization is a feature of regionalism and a process or a project that engages actors to processes of social and economic interaction that involve population flow and transfer of ideas and attitudes within a region and maybe driven by private actors or states either in a bottom-up effort or top-down approach (Katzenstein, 2006; Hurrell, 1995; Fawcett, 2004). It is viewed also as an opposition to globalization (Marchand et al. (1999). While globalization promotes economic integration across state borders around the world allowing many companies to trade internationally that permit free market, regionalization may not allow corporations outside its region to trade and more likely create monopolies within the region. Regionalization and globalization are key defining features in contemporary world politics. They are not actually a complete new process. Ever since men started to travel around the globe by boat or by land, globalization had started. As previously said, the exact meaning of globalization, and defining it is a controversial risk. It is always understood as the increased flow of goods, services, capital, people, and information across borders (Jacoby, 2010). Whether people share same culture, history or commerce, the most basic sense of region is a group of countries in the same geographic location (Mansfield, 1999). The countries in this region decided to integrate and interact socially and economically leading to regionalization (Hurrell, 2007). B. Integration of Asian Region Regional Integration is a process by which two or more neighboring nation- states agree to cooperate and work closely together to achieve peace, stability, and wealth. It is overcoming barriers among neighboring countries jointly managing shared resources and assets for the common good. The European Union supports regional integration to achieve prosperity, peace, and security. As a proce regional integra ion is a multidimensional process and may take the form of coordination, cooperation, convergence and deep integration initiatives and whose scope extends not only to economic and trade issues but to political, social, cultural and environmental ones as well (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, 2014).Lesson 2. ASIAN REGIONALISM LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of this lesson, students are expected to 1. Differentiate between regionalization and globalization. 2. Identify the factors leading to a greater integration of the Asian region. 3. Analyze how different Asian states confront the challenges of globalization and regionalization. Groups, associations, institutions, societies, communities and governments form organizations or networks in regions. The linkages and communications have made the people more aware of the world around them. Globalization has made various citizens cognizant of specific areas, particularly on territories or continents where they live. People are able to identify themselves with regions they belong to. Conceptual Framework in Understanding Regionalism or ‘New Regionalism’ Mansfield, Edward & Solingen, et al. (2010) consider canes regionalism, otherwise known contemporarily as new eine regionalism as involving policy coordination through Regionalization formal institutions among states located in close geographic Globalization proximity but in some cases involving other non-state Regional integration ors. It is premised on the concept of “regions’ which Economicintegration frequently defined as groups of countries located in ae the same geographic space. Regions imply more than just Pecctangtade —_PbEEH proximity or geographic proximity but include social and cultural homogeneity, shared political attitudes and political institutions, and economic interdependence. The coordination among regional actors involves high levels of interdependence across multiple dimensions— including economic transactions, communications, and political values—as determining whether a group of countries composes a region. Thompson (1973) emphasizes that regions include states that are geographically proximate, interact extensively, and have shared perceptions of various phenomena. However, political practice and interaction can alter a region’s composition or ‘regions are conceived to be politically made (Katzenstein (2005), subjected to grand strategies of different domestic political coalitions, and shared communal identities of states within a region (Risse-Kappen 1995), Hence, regionalism is a political process marked by cooperation and policy coordination (Mansfield, Edward & Solingen, et al. 2010). It ; — also as preferential trade agreements among a subset of nations (Bhagwati,The second wave of globalization was the economic wave. The Potugesuesse and Spanish colonies were well establsihed in the 14" and 15% centuries respectively, Latin America was the basic source of raw materials by the European countries, During this time, the globalization development was mainly related to the requirements of the European industrial revolution. Natural resources in this period were exploited and workers were abused. However, infectious diseases were reduced, communication, and transportation were developed. Cultural wavewas the third globalization wave. Ducto the nature of technological changes, globalization affected the cultural sphere of Latin America, Computers and telecommunications were now made available and air travel became widespread. The flow of merchandise and trade was easier and accomplishing lots of things. Women have become increasingly important in the workplace. A lot of changes were happening: Communication was becoming better. People within the region could already communicate with each other and to other regions of the world, But a new disease was introduced like AIDS or HIV. Though the impact of the third wave was already felt during the 20" century, the impact of the second wave was still felt and very much alive. Both waves in the last decade were simultaneously experienced affecting many countries around the world, The better effects brought by.the third wave were often outweighed by its negative impacts. A lot of raw materials were produced and exported outside the region resulting to higher income to the detriment of the environment. Native trees or crops were replaced by other plants highly demanded by the importing countries resulting to soil erosion. Increased consumption of sea products promoted expansion of aquaculture resulting to reduction of the water quality. Despite of these effects, the national cultures of Latin America still exist. ‘These are important assets to regional societies. However, many individuals and communities have no political control over their common destinies. The weakening of the state capacity and the increase in access of information might be a source of opportunity for the individuals and communities. The tools offered by this new globalization, according to Antén (1998), might pave the way for planetary survival and social renewal.‘The growth and development of the developing countries in the 1970's were slowing. Developed countries were becoming dependent on the Third World for energy due to the decline of US oil reserves. These likely increased the economic power of the Third World. It was at this time that the term North and South were firstly widely used in lieu of the long standing geographical and cultural partition of the East and West. The Global South was merged to the Third World in order to avoid the stigma brought about by the form “Third World” as being very poor and thus created a new world order (Butler 2007). To explain further, Third World countries are experiencing deep poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment. They are the countries at the periphery that produce mainly agrarian and mineral raw materials for industrialized states. In a deeper sense, the developing countries that originally belong to the Global South still has a chance to become a developed country. Global Relations in Latin America Latin America, like Africa, has small populations but endowed with rich natural resources, Because of this, this region is target for grand-scale pillage for capital accumulation by Europe and the United States. Countries in Latin America were under the control of either Spain or Portugal during the Colonial Era. During the 19" century, the world capitalist system exploited the peonized peasants. The tillers, laborers, and uneducated were subjected to brutality by big agrarian landowners. The natural resources like mines were exploited by the developed countries. ‘The emigration of peasants from the countryside in the 20" century resulted to “modernization poverty” replacing rural poverty in Latin America. A settlement of jerry-built shacks or favelas emerged in the cities. A lot of people were now living in the urban areas alongside with the change of politics imposing fascist dictatorship. Certain rights were abolished like the right to vote. Specialized police services were established giving extra-legal authority to arrest and torture people who went against the government. The brutal super-exploitation in Latin America are worse compared to other regions in the world. Until now, some countries in the region are still suffering and recovering from the brutal treatment as the result of dictatorships. The situation of the Philippines during and after the colonial era was much better compared to the experiences of Latin America. Even before the current globalization trends appear in Latin America, they were actually experiencing the wide-raging globalization which resulted to exploitation and abuse, “Different Waves of Globalization in Latin America” claims that there are waves of globalization in Latin America. The first wave of globalization was the military wave that happened around 15 th to 16 th centuries.. Extracontinental military invasion of the Americas was immediately felt. There were political and cultural annihilation of the indigenous people. The first wave was extremely brutal.World Map showing the difference between the Arandt Line and the Modern North South Divide f | | NIC - Newly industrialized Country RIC - Rich industrialized Country LCD - Least Developed Country Global South vs The Third World The emergence of the term Global South isin part to aid countries in the Southern Hemisphere to work in collaboration on political, economic, social, environmental, cultural, and technical issues. This is called a South-South Cooperation (SSC), “a political and economical term referring to the long term goal of pursuing world economic changes that mutually benefit countries in the Global South and lead to greater solidarity among the disadvantaged in the world system” (Gray, 2016). Global South was first used in 1969 in a contemporary political sense and continued to gain appeal throughout the second half of the 20 century. It was a French demographer, anthropologist and economic historian Alfred Sauvy (1898-1990) who coined the term “the Third World” in 1952, comparing it with Third Estate, a concept that emerged during the French Revolution which refers to the French population. The term was accepted because it clearly differentiated the poor countries from the First World where countries are wealthy, and to Second World (Communist states) though not so wealthy but characterized by greater order, higher incomes, and longer expectancies (Butler, 2007).South comprising Latin America, Africa, and Asia and a wealthy global North as the rest of the world. The Brandt Line proposed by Willy Brandt in the 1980s attempted to show growing income inequality between countries, Above the line are the rich countries, whereas below the line are, the poor countries. However, this theory is no longer considered as valid since in today’s context, some of the world’s strongest econamies lie below the Brandt line, World map showing the modern definition of the North-South Divide Borth § southLesson 1. GLOBAL DIVIDES: THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH While globalization is a phenomenon, regioualisin is alsa seen as a politicas and economic phenomenon, The world consists of different reyions which refer to 4 group of countries situated in the same jeographic location of amalgamate with one another to oversce flows and policy choices. Countries in these regions respond economically and politically to ylobalization, thereby forming regional associations for common purposes like military defense and economic security. North-South Divide ‘The North-South Divide or Rich-Poor Divide is the socio-economic and political division between the wealthy developed countries known as “the North,” and the poorer developing countries or “the South.” Although most of the countries under “the North” are located in the Northern Hemisphere, the divide is purely not based on geographic location. Some countries located in the same hemisphere may not be qualified for “developed” status. In effect may deemed part of “the South.” This divide is recently known as development gap which puts greater emphasis on the gap between the economically rich and poor countries. The Global North mostly encompasses the West and the First World, along with many of the Second World. It is the home of all the G8 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States and European Union). Global North also includes the outermost regions of the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and developed members of Asia (the Four Asian Tigers - Hongkong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea). The North, with one quarter of the world population, controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world. It ‘owned 90% of the manufacturing industries which are also located in the countries belonging to the North. The Global South refers to regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. It includes the countries belonging to the Third World and Periphery. These are regions outside Europe and North America. With three-fourth of the world populations, but only has aecess to one-fifth of the world income. Hence, countries that have low-income and often politically or culturally marginalized. “The use of the phrase Global South marks a shift from a central focus on development or cultural difference toward an emphasis on geopolitical relations of power (Dados, 2012). The Brandt Line ‘The Brandt Line first appeared in 1980 on the cover of a report entitled North- South: A Programme for Survival (Brandt, 1980). It incisively and decisively schematically delineated the world into two distinct boundaries into a poor global a '