A Pariah No More: How Over-reliance on China Spurred Myanmar’s Reforms
Memo #380 By: Jonathan T. Chow – jchow [at] umac.mo and Leif-Eric Easley – easley [at] post.harvard.edu How Over-reliance on China Spurred Myanmar’s Reforms In late 2010, Myanmar’s repressive military junta transformed itself into a nominally civilian government, over two decades after it had seized power. Upon becoming president in early 2011, former general Thein Sein unexpectedly launched wide-ranging […]
Hedging without coordination? The Cambodian Government’s Policies Toward Vietnam
Memo #369 By: Thearith Leng – thearithleng2011 [at] gmail.com Hedging, a mix of bandwagoning (political deference) and balancing (varying forms of defiance), has become a popular concept to explain how small Southeast Asian states manage their relations with larger countries. Cambodia’s policies toward its more powerful neighbor, Vietnam, display such a mixed approach. But in […]
Where are the voices and the interests of rural Lao women in ASEAN?
Memo #356 By Carly Teng – c.teng [at] alumni.ubc.ca The primary focus of ASEAN has been on economic development, with some attempts since 2014 to include “women’s economic empowerment” through support of female entrepreneurship in its member countries. ASEAN’s recognition of the need for women’s economic empowerment is necessary, but not sufficient to advance women’s rights, especially […]
AEC 2015: Stop Talking to Other Governments, Start Talking to Firms
Memo #325 By Cesi Cruz – cesi.cruz [at] gmail.com and Benjamin A.T. Graham – benjamin.a.graham [at] usc.edu How can the governments in ASEAN help businesses prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) scheduled to start in 2015? Foreign firms operating in the Philippines are preparing for the changes, but what help do they want from […]
Will the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) transform Southeast Asian economies in 2015?
Memo #322 By Kai Ostwald – kai.ostwald [at] ubc.ca and Krislert Samphantharak – krislert [at] ucsd.edu December 31, 2015 is the launch date of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), possibly the most ambitious undertaking to date of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Envisioned as the culmination of decades-old economic integration efforts to […]
Japan’s Economy & Trade (A Video Interview with Watanabe Yorizumi)
Memo #280 Featuring Watanabe Yorizumi Last month the Asia Pacific Memo sat down with Watanabe Yorizumi, since 2005 a member of the Faculty of Policy Management at the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University. Professor Watanabe came to his academic career with a distinguished diplomatic background, having served several appointments in Japan’s foreign service, […]
Voices from Indonesia’s Rising Policy Elites: a Confident, Flexible, and Creative Indonesia
Memo #275 By Yves Tiberghien – yves.tiberghien [at] ubc.ca Asia is in the midst of a great uplift, but also great social change and geopolitical transformation. In the midst of China’s rise, China-Japan tensions, India’s new voice, and the US pivot, how are Indonesians thinking and planning? Indonesia is only slowly waking up to its […]
Gratin on the Noodle Bowl? New ASEAN Investment Agreement Promotes Regional Economic Integration
National ministers, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials, and managers of regional and foreign multinationals as well as representatives of small and medium enterprises in the region marked the entry into force of the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) with a day-long event in Kuala Lumpur this April.
Exporting “Tough on Crime” Policy to Thailand: Harper’s Recent Visit
Memo #148 – Human smuggling and terrorism – not trade – played centre stage in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to Thailand in March. Although the Thai government was eager to solicit more interest in trade during a visit that marked the 50th anniversary of Canada-Thailand relations, it was left with $7 million (CDN) for an anti-crime program and an “exploratory” talk on free trade.
AMRO – Fleshing out Regional Monetary Cooperation in East Asia
Memo #90 – On May 4, 2011, representatives of the ASEAN +3 group took another critical step forward in realizing the goal of a full-fledged regional financial entity. These developments have special importance given the leadership vacuum at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the intransigence of the European Union and the United States in further democratizing the process for leadership selection at the IMF.