East Asian Regionalism - Chapter Presentation
Class: IS308 Created Time: March 26, 2021 10:30 AM Database: Assignment Database Last Edited Time: August 4, 2021 12:18 PM Provided Materials: Chapter_2_-East_Asian_regionalism.pdf, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qbQpTOIelTzQMmyHzntFNwSvBKH9TFq3/view?usp=sharing Resulting Materials: Chapter_2_East_Asian_Regionalism-_Slides.odp Status: Done Tags:#Asia-Pacific Type: 📑🎙️
Group 2 Members
Guidelines
- Chapter Presentation is delivered before the class discussion.
- The presentation must be done with PowerPoint slide.
- All group members must take part in the presentation.
- The presentation must not exceed 50 minutes. 10 minutes will be allotted for Q&A and the rest will be allocated for the class discussion (or debate if deemed necessary).
- The presentation group must submit their slide in both pptx and PDF files to ‘Students’ Group Presentation Slides’ in ‘Files’ in IS308 Group on MS Team one day before their presentation.
Topic
Chapter 2: East Asian Regionalism
Parts
- Intro Page 22 to before ASEAN plus three and the trilateral summit (3 pages) Hout Mengthu
- ASEAN plus three and the trilateral summit to before APEC, the Asia-Pacific community, and the enlarged EAS (3 pages) Sem Sonita
- APEC, the Asia-Pacific community, and the enlarged EAS to Page 32 (5 pages) Chea Resan
Introduction
Since the Cold War various countries have expressed an interest in forming a regional community in East Asia. Lately, the trilateral summit of China, Japan and South Korea has emerged as one principal entity pursuing the functions and who will be the leading of the East Asian Community.
Who will be the leader leading the EAC
In this part, we will examine what are the role and influence of each actor in the region.
United States
The role of the United States serving as the only collective organization of states within East Asia with a mandate for advancing towards regionalism.
Moreover, the United States
- holds the predominant military role, while continuing to insist on it is steadily ceding its economic predominance
- It strives to prevent the rise of a regional hegemon as well as exclusive regionalism capable of challenging open markets, universal values and US alliances.
China
Another super power is China. Due to the rapid economic growth of China, lead China emerged as the most serious challenger for economic leadership with US.
- China being a sufficiently developed economy with a narrowly focused foreign policy posing slight challenge to the great powers.
- its fast-growing military,
It’s expected rise to the pinnacle of world power, cause countries to against it even as they grow more dependent on its economy.
Japan
Japan was the first challenger seeking economic leadership with aspirations to capitalize on regional fascination with ‘Asian values’.
Yet, it was constrained by
- memories of its previous colonialism
- it’s power been restricted by its postwar pacifist constitution
- postwar dependence on an alliance with the United States.
- collapse of its bubble economy
- political instability
- lack will to make economic reforms have enfeebled remaining regional leadership ambitions.
ASEAN & South Korea
- Even though both ASEAN and South Korea are the host of various organizations, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and ASEAN Plus Three (including China, Japan and South Korea),
- South Korea served as the host of the first Asian meeting of the G-20.
But for both ASEAN and South Korea are able to exercise a limited degree of leadership.
- neither proved capable of great power relations as was required for regional leadership.
- the competition between the two China and Japan
- the shadow of US power in East Asia
The common goal Regionalism of EAC
Although removing economic barriers was the principal of most agreements to promote regionalism, a ‘community’ imply shared values and joint responses to security threats.
Economic Integration
- The establishment of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which would benefits for all.
- the Chiang Mai Initiative
- The Chiang Mai Initiative was established to
- reduce reliance on the widely distrusted International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- prevent a repetition of the crisis due to the rapid withdrawal of foreign funds
- During the world financial crisis, China stimulated its economy and helped pull the rest of the region out of recession ⇒ new momentum to regional economic integration.
Cultural matter
Cultural matters proved difficult for boosters of an East Asian Community because of two reason:
- controversy persisted over historical memories of Japanese imperialism and the way these kept being invoked
- universal values were also proving divisive, not just as vague ideals but also as they applied to emerging challenges. There was little clarity about what the emerging East Asian identity should be or how it could gain credibility in the face of powerful nationalist currents.
Security Cooperation
The most issue that threaten to the region security are the development of North Korean Nuclear Weapon and the expansion of China military power. As China identified the South China Sea in 2010 as a core interest, left many of its neighbours nervous. Moreover, we could see the important of the Six-Party Talks to maintain the security in region. Yet, it was breakdown in 2008.
ASEAN plus three and the trilateral summit
ASEAN +3 and trilateral summit
How ASEAN +3 was created
The relationship between the 3+ states which are China South Korea and Japan
Challenges
- How ASEAN +3 was created
So we all know that the concept of collective security and regional grouping it’s not a new concept. But at the end of Cold War, regionalism shift there attention from security to economic growth cooperation, They still practice collective security but security is a secondary concern state seem to have more confidence in collective security and regionalism. For example when there are threats such as from North Korea on the region, state would join in containment the threat.
- And for ASEAN, need to strengthen the original organization because the new emerging threat such as the rising of China, in 1990s, China at that time they intensify tensions with Japan they also like testing nuclear weapons and also show of force in Taiwan crisis.
And ASEAN was weak, not much members state, and they know that there are uncertain great power influences in the region, the risk is to be dominant by great power, so they start to expand their memberships to Laos Cambodia and Vietnam and away that time they also enlarge their organization relation with China South Korea and Japan and it was good for them.
- because at a time they have resentment toward United States and the international organization because of the asian financial crisis, and the reliant on the plus three states increase.
But we also need to look at the relation between the plus state because there are indeed competition for leadership in the region
The relation btw plus state:
- these three state does not have a good history with each other
- For South Korea and Japan their relationship only starting to get better when they cohosting the World Cup in 2002 despite their bad history with each other as neighbors they have tide economic relations
- But for Japan and China the relationship is kind of complicated because Japan as a past economic leader that have been struggle for decades but for China they are rising to be The new leader because of the rapid economic growth.
- They once Had a tide relationship in the past because they had the same enemy, which is the United state. And their relationship peak again only in the name of regionalism and economic cooperation because as we all know Japan has strong allies with the United States now.
Challenges of ASEAN PLUS THREE
- Ten ASEAN states had difficulty to join course.
10 of the member does not on the same level I would say, only Indonesia as a middle power sales to take the role as a leader and while other powerful members Singapore trying to avoid giving of offense.
- The cooperation is limited to only economic interests
The security interest is seem to be impossible in ASEAN plus 3, why? Because there are different response from ASEAN members state in term of China rise to appeal with the United States.
- and the third one is kind of like a challenge because Japan and China has an unstable relationship. Because of the world financial crisis Japan rebalance their relation with the United States why China relationship with the United States is grow more divided, and at this point Japan are more shifting toward their ally which is the United States.
Japan and China competition
- Japan Shift the attention from economic integration to security stabilization because China is kind of a threat.
- So Japan become more defensive in regionalism while China just trying to push, even when the world financial crisis set back other state, China still pushing for more new initiatives toward ASEAN.
- The spiral btw China and Japan increase, everything btw them is a big deal to increase tension issues from arresting fishing boat to, blaming China for failing to condemn North Korea
- China challenge Pressuring Japan not to fall behind in embracing ASEAN, China simultaneously devoted energy to as in plus China Like is said to the extend that even during the world financial crisis by completing a new FTA with ASEAN to increase the dependency of the ASEAN state economy on China
- And Japan in coordination with the United States was like oh no. The trilateral relation must stand the ground to stay focus on China, but we only do it in economic area, security is almost impossible to cooperate.
- So even in the midst of security threat from North Korea as well as China maritime assertiveness, China was in the spot light to show their commitment in regional security stability. But when China was asked by South Korea to join response to the North Korean attack in South Korean navel vessel, China was like, we maintain the commitment in boosting regionalism but only in economic and not security so China was like nope neh nehh none of my bizz it your sovereignty
- But later on after confronting the United States in 2010 regarding the declaration on South China Sea as decor interest China push for exclusive regionalism including security against the the United States, so China received a lot of backlash for that
- This also make ASEAN star more alarming of China, and country like Vietnam actively resisted the hegemonic of China.
APEC, the Asia-Pacific community, and the enlarged EAS
The world economy has been shifting focus to Asia.
After the Cold War ended, the Asia-Pacific Economic Caucus (APEC) formed that involved countries from both sides of the pacific.
The Asia Pacific community was propelled forward by Australia endorsing the Asia Pacific community over the East Asia Community and the US signing TAC (Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia) & US’s actions to enlarge the EAS.
However, as APEC was created, it created the need for an organization that has the reach across the pacific and is Asia exclusive at the same time.
To fulfill the inclusive regionalism, the East Asia Summit (EAS) was created with 16 members including Russia and the US later on.
It aims to focus on the ASEAN region and its regional powers and to limit China’s power and influence. However, with the growing importance of EAS, Japan stressed the lingering importance of APEC, to not put economic ties over mutual trust. That relations politics, security, and cultures are still very important which is provided by APEC.
The three-way FTA between China, Japan, and South Korea was formed with similar interests between the three nations, the need for economic integration for East Asia.
However, the three states still differed on some issues.
China aims to prevent the rising protectionism and to prevent anti-dumping actions in the region. Anti-dumping actions are basically to put a tax on foreign products that are priced lower than the market value. And china wants to reduce those.
As For South Korea, it accepts economic integration on the condition that values must be preserved and taken to build a foundation for the new community.
Whereas Japan stressed the importance of trust, as mentioned before.
Still, there were challenges to the creation of an inclusive region in Asia.
In the 1990s, the US turned APEC into a summit for opening markets up to the world. But there were disagreements over how to remove trade barriers between the US and Japan. Which halted actions in APEC.
Second, the Asian financial crisis of 2002 seemed to show that exclusive regionalism would win over.
And lastly, ASEAN had the fear of losing its centrality. Therefore, it rejected the Asia Pacific Regionalism proposed by Australia. Instead, ASEAN proposed the ASEAN+8 or ‘Enlarged EAS’. The Enlarged EAS is a group centered on ASEAN and its active great powers in the region. Which to a degree replaced the ARF and APEC for annual consideration of broad regional problems.
North-East Asia still needs to deal with the security issue of North Korea. When in 2007, the US softened its position to propose economic incentives for the denuclearization of North Korea. Which North Korea rejected the offer right away.
Whereas China it approached the issue by still sticking to the UNSC to only relieve sanctions if there’s significant progress of denuclearization made. However, China still refused to cooperate to put pressure on North Korea in some cases, which casts doubts on China’s commitment to denuclearizing North Korea.