ASIAN REGIONALISM

“East Asia will be likely be the next region to

define its economic and political interests on a
transnational basis, either with China at the
helm of an East Asian community and Japan
managing to contrive some form of
partnership...”
 “In effect, a tri-partite division of the United
States, the European Union, and East Asia is
emerging, with India, Russia, and Brazil and
perhaps Japan preferring to act as swing states
according to their national interests.”
 ASIAN REGIONALISM

Asia Regionalism is the product of economic

interaction, not political planning. East Asian
economies, in particular, focused on exporting to
developed country markets rather than selling to
each other. Initially, they specialized in simple,
labor-intensive manufacturers.
 WHAT IS
ASEAN?

Association of
Southeast
Asian Nations
 ASEAN

The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) is a 10-member regional bloc with a
combined GDP of S2.4 trillion, a population of
630 million, and a landmass covering more than
1.7 million square miles. Founded in 1967 in
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore
and Thailand.
 OBJECTIVE

To create a prosperous and peaceful community

of South-East Asian Nations.
 MOTTO

One Vision.
One Identity.
One Community.
 ASEAN DAY

8th of August is observed as ASEAN Day.

 ASEAN COUNTRIES

• Indonesia • Brunei
• Malaysia • Vietnam
• Philippines • Laos
• Singapore • Myanmar
• Thailand • Cambodia
 ASEAN seeks to promote economic growth and
regional stability among its members through
consultation, consensus, and cooperation based on the
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). By
combining the member states’ influence, ASEAN has
been able to affect Asia Pacific economic, political, and
security trends to a much greater degree than its
members could achieve individually.
 ASEAN’s community building effort
compromises three pillars: the Political-Security
Community; Economic Community; and Socio-
Cultural Community.
 AEM SEOM
ASC

ASEAN AMM SOM

SUMMIT ASEAN Secretariat

AFMM AFDM
Others
AEM - ASEAN Economic Ministers
AMM - ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
AFMM - ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting
SEOM - Senior Economic Officials Meeting
ASC - ASEAN Standing Committee
SOM - Senior Officials Meeting
AFDM - ASEAN Finance and Central Bank
Deputies Meeting
 END OF COLD WAR

• ASEAN Free Trade Area

• Initiated at ASEAN summit in 1992
• Comprehensive Program of Regional Tariff
Reduction
• Program later broadened and accelerated
• Reaffirmed during Asian Financial Crisis of
1997-98
 EXPANSION OF ASEAN

1984: Brunei
1995: Vietnam
1997: Laos
1997: Myanmar
1999: Cambodia
 ASEAN EXTERNAL LINKS

• A joint forum with Japan was established in 1977

• A cooperation with the European Community was
signed in 1980
• “ASEAN + 3”: regular series of meetings at the
cabinet and head-of-government levels with
Japan, China, and South Korea since 1997
 ASEAN AND U.S.

Investment:
• U.S. direct investment of US$157 billion in ASEAN
• Nearly 3 times more than in China
• 10 times more than in India
Trade:
• 3rd largest export market ($76 billion) for U.S.
• U.S. imported $123 billion form ASEAN
 NORTHEAST ASIA
• Japan • Hong Kong
• South Korea • Taiwan
• North Korea • Mongolia
• Mainland China • Russia
 NORTHEAST ASIA
• Compared with Southeast Asia and West Europe,
Northeast Asia has lagged behind
In developing mechanisms or institutions
Of coordination, cooperation, or integration
• Especially considering the immense economic
potentials in the region
Natural Resources
Human Infrastructure
 POLITICAL DIFFICULTIES

• Legacies of World War II

Japanese atrocities in Pacific Asia

• Legacies of Cold War

Partition of Korea

• Mutually reinforcing suspicions

 POLITICAL DIFFICULTIES

• Territorial disputes between

Japan and China
Japan and South Korea
Japan and Russia
“Sea of Japan” or “East Sea”
 CURRENT STATUS

• Washington-Tokyo-Beijing Triangle
PRC & Japan regarded relationship with each
other as 2nd in importance to that with U.S.
• Japan plays significant role in integrating PRC into
world economy
• Japan has vital interest in PRC’s development
and stability
• Economic interdependence
 NORTHEAST ASIA
Accelerated economic cooperation in East
Asia may have an important impact on the
global economic order. The ASEAN+6 free
trade agreement, if concluded, would create
a market of more than 3 billion people, with
a GDP of about $17 trillion, which would
account for 40% of world trade.
 In the case of China-Japan-South Korea
cooperation, a trilateral FTA would create a
market of more than 1.5 billion people with a
GDP of $14 trillion, which would account for
35% of global trade.
 The political and economic differences
between ASEAN members, which result in the
lack of a united voice about integration and
security cooperation, various ASEAN-extended
initiatives, and tussles between China, South
Korea and Japan on historical and territorial
issues, make real integration in East Asia
problematic.
 The ASEAN Way, which still plays central
role in East Asia regionalism, is a significant
impediment to the creation of united
organizations with a strong position on the
“great chessboard.” The distrust between
Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul, which recently
undermined the longstanding, unwritten rule of
“cold politics, hot economy,” proves that the
road to an integrated Asian community is long
and bumpy.
 ASEAN OUTREACH INITIATIVES
In May 2013, ASEAN began negotiations
with its six partners - China, India, Japan, South
Korea, Australia and New Zealand - on a
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP). First of all, such a regional partnership
is a solution to the different views of China and
Japan, of economic cooperation with the
Association.
 Beijing advocated a free trade agreement
only with the Association, Japan and Korea,
while Tokyo, which is interested in
counterbalancing China’s influence in the
region, suggested expanding cooperation to
include India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN MATTERS
 HOW REGIONALISM CAN BENEFIT

- Link the competitive strengths of its diverse

economies in order to boost their productivity
and sustain the region’s exceptional growth;
- - Connect the region’s capital markets to
enhance financial stability, reduce the cost of
capital, and improve opportunities for
sharing risk;
- Cooperate in setting exchange rate and
macroeconomic policies in order to minimize
the effects of global ad regional shocks and to
facilitate the resolution of global imbalances;
- Pool the region’s foreign exchange reserves to
make more resources available for investment
and development.
- Exercise leadership in global decision making
to sustain the open global trade and financial
systems that have supported a half century of
unparalleled economic development;
- Build connected infrastructure and collaborate
on inclusive development to reduce inequalities
within and across economies and thus to
strengthen support for pro-growth policies
- Create regional mechanisms to manage cross-
border health, safety, and environmental issues
better.
ASEAN SYSTEMS THEORY
 The strategic preferences of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members
should be a key variable in explaining the
ASEAN integration process over the last four
decades. ASEAN integration will not progress as
rapidly and substantially as many of its leaders
claim unless there are remarkable developments
in factors that affect the underlying preferences
… of ASEAN states, such as a significant
increase in intra-ASEAN trade and investment
a much stronger pressure from domestic
businesses for deeper integration, or external
shocks that threaten the region’s economic
growth. While the progressive path of
European integration illustrates that an
independent and strong supranational …
… institution is necessary to handle the
complex processes of regional integration, the
strategic-preference theory of ASEAN
integration presented here predicts that this
will not be the top policy priority of its leaders
in the near future.
 REGIONAL BANDWAGON

Approach: Realism vs. Liberalism

Liberalism and realism are two of the most

important theories in the field of International
Relations. They are different from one another
in a number of ways.
 REGIONAL BANDWAGON

Approach: Realism vs. Liberalism

Realism holds that all states pursue their

interests while liberalism holds that states can
cooperate with one another and act more
altruistically.
 REALISM VS. LIBERALISM
Realism Liberalism
• Holds that all states • Holds that states can
pursue their interests cooperate with one
• They ant to get power another and act more
so that they can be altruistically
strong enough to be • Not always looking for
secure from attack power
 REALISM VS. LIBERALISM
Realism Liberalism
• International System • Believed that the
can’t be manipulated International System
to make peace can be manipulated to
• States want only to make peace
maintain their own
security
 REALISM VS. LIBERALISM

Realism Liberalism
• International System is • Believed in things like
inherently anarchical United Nations which
and cannot really be allow countries to
made more peaceful interact with one
another in a variety of
except through power ways lead to less conflict
between countries
 REALISM VS. LIBERALISM

Realism Liberalism
• Don’t believe that • Believed that
democratization can democratization can
bring peace bring peace
• State only matters • Believed that non-state
actors are important
 REALISM VS. LIBERALISM

Realism Liberalism
• Believed that • Pay attention to
democratic countries individual leaders
will pursue power
regardless of whether
they are democratic
 REALISM VS. LIBERALISM
Realism Liberalism
• Countries will fight if • Pay attention to non-
their interest dictate governmental
it, even of they and organizations
their opponents are
both democracies
 Group 3

Liwarin, Marjorie A.
Maca, Oliver F. Medrana, John Kenneth
Maliberan, Kathryn R. Merindo, Joshua M.
Manglicmot, Jackielou A. More,Heinrich G.
Manzano, Geocelle Marie Motos Ashley Joy G.
Mayo, Reynald M. Pabelonia, Jaemark G.