Powder Keg In The Pacific -- Foreign Policy
China is rising -- fast and furious. So why can't the rest of Asia get its act together?
Over the past decade, East Asian countries have surprised observers with their eagerness to work together. After all, this is a region where ancient (and not-so-ancient) hatreds run deep. But observers shouldn't get their hopes up: Modern rivalries and historical baggage still stand in the way of transforming these arrangements into genuine regional cooperation.
On paper, progress appears to be occurring rapidly. In 2010, China, Australia, and New Zealand implemented free trade arrangements with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), providing preferential access to each others' markets. China, Japan and South Korea are negotiating a free trade agreement. Even erstwhile enemies China and Taiwan entered into an economic agreement that reduces trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas on both sides: trade between Taiwan and China reached $128 billion in 2011, a 13 percent increase from the previous year, when the agreement went into effect.
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My Comment: This article makes my point when I say that culturally .... Asia is thousands of years old. Economically .... they will be the world's engine for growth for the next century. But politically .... the entire region is still immature, and it is this immaturity that can bring about conflicts that we may regret later on.
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