TCW Module 7 Asian Regionalism PDF

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FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020 Study Guide in GE 5: Contemporary World

Module No.7

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 7

ASIAN REGIONALISM MODULE OVERVIEW

This lesson looks at the mechanism of unique integration of the world’s biggest land mass and population – the Asian region and how nation-states approach contemporary challenges. MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of the lesson, you should be able to: 1. differentiate between regionalization and globalization: 2. identify the factors that lead to a greater integration of Asian regions; and 3. analyze how different Asian states confront the challenges of globalization, regionalization, and COVID-19. MODULE CONTENT Trigger question: What problems do developing countries face today, and how can individuals contribute to solutions rather than awaiting the generosity of the state or other actors? Today we shall look closely at the unique integration mechanism of the Asian region and how nation-states therein approach the contemporary challenges and facets of world homogenization, division, and pandemic. The lesson will conclude on the level of reflective students’ personalization. Governments, associations, societies, and groups form regional organizations and/or networks as a way of coping with the challenges of globalization. Globalization has made people aware of the world in general, but it has also made Filipinos more cognizant of specific areas such as Southeast Asia. How, for instance, did the Philippines come to identify itself with the Southeast Asian region? Why is it part of a regional grouping known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)? While regionalism is often seen as a political and economic phenomenon, the term actually encompasses a broader area. It can be examined in relation to identities, ethics, religion, ecological sustainability, and health. Regionalism is also a process, and must be treated as an “emergent, socially constituted phenomenon.” It means that regions are not natural or given; rather, they are constructed and defined by policymakers, economic actors, and even social movements. Edward D. Mansfield and Helen V. Milner state that economic and political definitions of regions vary, but there are certain basic features that everyone can agree on. First, regions are “a group of countries located in the same geographically specified area” or are “an amalgamation of two regions [or] a combination of more than two regions” organized to regulate and “oversee flows and policy choices.” Second, the words regionalization and regionalism should not be interchanged, as the former refers to the “regional concentration of economic flows” while the latter is “a political process characterized by economic policy cooperation and coordination among countries.” Countries form regional associations for several reasons. One is for military defense. Countries also form regional organizations to pool their resources, get better returns for their exports, as well PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

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expand their leverage against trading partners. Moreover, there are countries that form regional blocks to protect their independence from the pressures of superpower politics. Finally, economic crisis compels countries to come together. Official regional associations now cover vast swaths of the world. The population of the countries that joined the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) alone comprised 37 percent of the world’s population in 2007. These countries are also part of the “smaller” organizations that include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, and the Union of South American Nations. Even “isolationist” North Korea is part of the Regional Forum, which discusses security issues in the region. (Lisandro E. Claudio and Patricio N. Abinales) Globalization and regionalization are the same for they refer to integration. Their difference lies on the scope. Globalization is worldwide while regionalization focuses on a specific geographical region. As a response to world homogenization and division, regionalism that comes in various forms of regional alternatives to globalization spawned within and among regions in Asia. Asian integration did not happen based on one historical event for there were different factors that led to this alliance. Asian regionalism is a new concept among the continental communities. New to cooperation and collaboration goals, it has the 50-year-old ASEAN group and the failed East Asia Economic Group (EAEG). The ASEAN community is comprised of three pillars – political security community, economic community, and socio-cultural community. ASEAN has also partnered with three EAST Asian countries – China, Japan, and South Korea. It is called the ASEAN + 3. Its goal is to address the 1997 Asian financial crisis and help each other cope with the crisis. In this context, ASEAN has concretized regionalism in the Asian region. There are some aspects that led to a greater Asian integration. First, integration has been market-driven. Within Asia, there are a variety of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations, and infrastructures that are put in place for countries to engage in exchange. Second, formal institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were established. Conceived in the 1960a, ADB promotes social and economic development in Asia. Third, economic grants and overseas development assistance are made available by better Asian economies. For example, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aims to work on human security and quality growth. Fourth, production networks have expanded. Economies are mainly on comparative advantage through the regional division of labor. Fifth, cooperation among the ASEAN and East Asian countries ensued the ASEAN + 3 Financial Ministers’ Process that established two economic structures – the Chiang Mai Initiative and the Asian Bond Markets Initiative. The process aims to strengthen policy dialogue, coordination, and collaboration on common financial, monetary, and fiscal issues. (Tumoroh C. Brazalote, Ryan M. Leonardo, and Bernardino C. Ofalia) SUMMAR SUMMARY: Y: Asian regionalism is the product of economic interaction, not political planning. As a result of successful, outward-oriented growth strategies, Asian economies have grown not only richer, but also closer together. In recent years, new technological trends have further strengthened ties among them, as have the rise of the PRC and India and the region’s growing weight in the global economy. But adversity also played a role. The 1997/98 financial crisis dealt a severe setback to much of the region, highlighting Asia’s shared interests and common vulnerabilities and providing an impetus for regional cooperation. The challenge now facing Asia’s policy makers is simply put yet incredibly complex: Where markets have led, how should governments follow? In the early stages of Asia’s PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

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economic takeoff, regional integration proceeded slowly. 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 manufactures. As the more advanced among them graduated to more sophisticated products, less developed economies filled the gap that they left behind. The Japanese economist Akamatsu (1962) famously compared this pattern of development to flying geese. In this model, economies moved in formation not because they were directly linked to each other, but because they followed similar paths. Since these development paths hinged on sequential—and sometimes competing—ties to markets outside the region, they did not initially yield strong economic links within Asia itself. Now, though, Asian economies are becoming closely intertwined. This is not because the region’s development strategy has changed; it remains predominantly nondiscriminatory and outward-oriented. Rather, interdependence is deepening because Asia’s economies have grown large and prosperous enough to become important to each other, and because their patterns of production increasingly depend on networks that span several Asian economies and involve wide- ranging exchanges of parts and components among them. Asia is at the center of the development of such production networks because it has efficient transport and communication links, as well as policies geared to supporting trade. As these new production patterns tie Asian economies closer together, they also boost the international competitiveness of the region’s firms.

Further Reading More detailed explanations on the above points are found in: *Lesson 5 A World of Regions page 50 of The Contemporary World. C & E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City Philippines. Lisandro E. Claudio and Patricio N. Abinales. 2018. *Module 3 A World of Regions Section 2 page 79 Asian Regionalism The Contemporary World Outcome-Based Module. Tumoroh C. Brazalote, Ryan M. Leonardo, and Bernardino C. Ofalia. 2019.

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Learning Activity 1 Instruction: Kindly answer the following questions below. Your answers must be brief, clear and concise. Avoid circular arguments. • Differentiate regionalization from globalization. _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ • What are the factors that lead to a greater integration of Asian regions? Give examples for each. _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ • How do Asian states confront the contemporary challenges of globalization, regionalization, and pandemic? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 2 Essay Writing: • Identify the strengths of the Philippines that may contribute to a sustainable ASEAN integration in meeting the COVID-19 challenge. _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

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REFERENCES Tumoroh C. Brazalote, Ryan M. Leonardo, and Bernardino C. Ofalia. 2019. The Contemporary World Outcome-Based Module. Lisandro E. Claudio and Patricio N. Abinales. 2018. The Contemporary World. C & E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City Philippines. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaenfo/jnaa019 https://gened.fas.harvard.edu/urgent-problems-enduring-questions

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