The Development of Sub-Regionalism in Asia Jin Ting 4016R330-6 Trirat Chaiburanapankul 4017R336-5
Outline 1. Evolution and development of regionalization and regionalism in Asia a. Asia as a region: general backgrounds of regional institutions in Asia b. Case study: ASEAN s development and community-building processes i. Timeline and theoretical explanations c. ASEAN as the connector/ trendsetter of Asia i. ASEAN+3/ASEAN US/ Europe/ middle east 2. Observations a. High level of regionalization but low level of regionalism in Asia b. Institutional design and its effects
Asia as a Region
Asia as a region Geography: stretching from the Pacific Islands from the East all the way to Pakistan to the West; it expands as north as Mongolia and includes Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in the South. Civilization: Asia was defined from the outside, such as by the U.S and the Soviet Union through the Cold War, but Asia will be increasingly constructed from the inside. Institution: Asia could be defined by its sub-regional groupings, with Southeast Asia defined by membership in ASEAN, South Asia defined by membership in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Asia is very heterogeneous in terms of levels of development as well as political systems of the various countries: The region features democracies as well as autocracies, Western capitalist as well as communist economic systems
General Background ASEAN: Formed in 1967, has the longest history as a regional organization, with members from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Originally founded to guard member states security against foreign interference, has slowly expanded into other areas of cooperation, such as trade and investment, as well as non-traditional security issues such as environment and public health. SAARC: The most important regional organization in South Asia. Regionalism in this sub-region, however, is heavily overshadowed by the Indian-Pakistani conflict and India s preponderant power in the region. Economic integration and intraregional trade is the lowest in the region and because of a preeminent security dilemma and economic regionalization has not developed much traction. SCO: Established in 2001 between China and Russia as well as Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tadzhikistan and Uzbekistan Has emerged as an important regional organization. It exemplifies China s efforts to improve its security relations with and gain influence over its continental neighbors of Russia and Central Asian countries
Case Study: Development and Community-building Processes of ASEAN
Timeline: Development of ASEAN Inward-looking 1960s Regional situation during 1960s End of Indonesian confrontation against Malaysia Spread of communism Escalation of Vietnam War 1967 Bangkok Declaration: the establishment of ASEAN 5 Original members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand Major concerns: Mutual trust-building among member countries Socio-political stabilization within the country under developmentalist authoritarian regime
Timeline: Development of ASEAN Increased concerns on region s common economic issues Early 1970s ASEAN started to be interested in economic matters First expression of extra-regional policy as ASEAN i.e. 1973 Japan-ASEAN dialogue on rubber trade
Timeline: Development of ASEAN Turning points (1) Second half of 1970s Post-Vietnam war: some countries in Southeast Asia turned socialist (getting supports from other socialist countries i.e. USSR) 1st ASEAN Summit in Bali (1976) Establishment of ASEAN secretariat (2) The Asian Financial crisis (1997) Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) Institution-building and regional identity - Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN in 1984
Timeline: Development of ASEAN Turning points (cont.) (3) 1990s Post-Cold war Shift of the power: the collapse of USSR and the rise of China Realist explanation: Absence of institutions in Asia as an outcome of the policies of the major powers Rapid development of regional cooperation in terms of FTA in other regions (EU, NAFTA) made SEA felt left behind ASEAN s enlargement and deepening The 1st meeting of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was held on 25 July 1994 in Bangkok Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995 Laos and Myanmar joined ASEAN in 1997 ASEAN Vision 2020 (see next slide) Cambodia joined ASEAN in 1999
Timeline: ASEAN Community building Community-building process 1997 ASEAN Vision 2020 (adopted in 30th anniversary of ASEAN) Constructivist explanation: To find the collective identity ASEAN accepts diversity among its members: Our rich diversity has provided the strength and inspiration to us to help one another foster a strong sense of community (ASEAN Vision 2020, 1997).
Timeline: ASEAN Community building Community-building processes (cont) 2003 Bali Concord II (9th ASEAN Summit in Bali) The establishment of ASEAN Community by 2020 ASEAN Community shall be comprising of three pillars: (1) ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) (2) ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) (3) ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)
Timeline: ASEAN Community building Community-building processes (cont.) 2007 Cebu Declaration (12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu) ASEAN Blueprint 2015 Acceleration of the establishment of ASEAN Community by 2015 (change time frame from 2020 to 2015) Intra-regional dimension ASEAN Charter Centralization of ASEAN Extra-regional dimension Centrality as the primary driving force in shaping the group s external relations
Timeline: ASEAN Community building Community-building processes (cont.) 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration (27th ASEAN Summit in KL) Declaration of the establishment of ASEAN Community ASEAN Blueprint 2025 Inclusive, people-oriented, people-centered AEC: mobility of skilled labour
ASEAN as the Connector/ Trendsetter of Asia
ASEAN Plus Frameworks The Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) of 1997 is widely perceived as a juncture for regionalism in Asia, both in the sense of institution building and regional identity. No single government could solve the crisis alone, but regional institutions were lacking.in the absence of support either by the US or the IMF, leaders faced a situation of self-help or no help. The incentive to push for regional institution building heightened, leading to the establishment of more exclusive and formal regional institutions such as ASEAN+3. ASEAN+3 has stimulated functional cooperation among its members, involving investment, trade, environment, and drug control.
ASEAN as connector/ trendsetter In the absence of other regional organizations in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, ASEAN provided the nucleus for other regional organizations in East Asia. ASEAN plus arrangements connect Northeast Asian and Southeast Asia Through ASEAN Framework, ASEAN connects East Asia and South Asia (as India has become increasingly active in engaging with this framework) Trendsetter of regional integration efforts across multiple issue areas Inter-regional dialogue including ten Northeast and Southeast Asian members through Asia- Europe Meeting - engagement with EU
Open Regionalism ASEAN+3 (ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea) characterized by low levels of formality, a relative weakness of centralized institutions and of binding agreements, relatively imprecise agreements, consensus on the lowest common denominator Asia has experienced regionalization without regionalism. Economic production networks are frequently regarded as the main drivers of economic regionalization in Asia rather than state-led multilateral institutions. Region-wide economic liberalization can occur promoted by unilateral state policies without setting up regional institutions. Asia s openness as an outcome of individual liberalization strategies, as the East Asian states, led by Japan in particular, prioritized export-led industrialization and unilaterally lowered trade barriers.
Observations
Observations Low level of formal regional institutionalization but high level of regionalization in Asia Realist explanation: Low degree of institutionalization or even absence of institutions in Asia as an outcome of the policies of the major great powers Liberalist explanation: Heterogeneity in Asia ASEAN plus arrangements to connect Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia Preference for open regionalism ASEAN as nucleus for other regional organizations in East Asia (ARF, EAS, ASEAN plus) Constructivist explanation: Norms of Asian regionalism: emphasis on sovereignty, non-interference, and territorial integrity Anti-colonial identity (Acharya, 2009) Cooperative behavior to socialize
Observations Institutional Design and its effect - Preference of low sovereignty costs and voluntary compliance mechanisms - Decision-making: consensus-based - Low level of delegation: Why? Without delegation, can a institution be effective? Intergovernmental cooperation instead of delegation?