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Welcome
to Asia-Studies
Full-Text Online |
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The Most Comprehensive and Authoritative Source of
Asia-Pacific Information |
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Asia-Studies Full-Text Online is the premier
database for the study of modern Asia Pacific. As the
exclusive licensee for many of the region's most prestigious research institutions,
Asia-Studies.com brings together thousands of full-text reports covering
55
countries*
on a multitude of business,
government, economic, and social issues. |
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We index full-text journals with
open access platforms in our Asia-Studies
Full-Text Plus section. Here is
the
list of journals available. |
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July, 2021 Current Topics |
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High
Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current Quarter Model:
2021Q3, July 2021. Hong Kong’s economy was disrupted
by the
COVID-19 pandemic, with GDP shrinking by 6.1% in the
year of 2020. The economy has improved markedly in 2021.
Boosted by the vibrant external demand, economy has
bounced back with real GDP growing by 7.9% in 21Q1.
Starting from 21Q2, economic recovery will be
broad-based. Driven by the growth of domestic demand,
Hong Kong’s real GDP is forecast to grow by 8.1% in
21Q2, slightly faster than 21Q1. Along with the
widespread vaccination programme and the global economic
recovery, strong rebound is expected to continue.
Unemployment is expected to go down rapidly to 5.1% in
21Q3 from the 7.2% peak in February 2021... |
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HKU |
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The Dawn of the Digital Yuan: China’s Central Bank Digital
Currency and Its Implications, June 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven digital innovation and
proved to be an enabling episode for the technology
industry; the growing focus on central bank digital
currencies (CBDCs) comes within such a context. China has
rushed to the forefront of the CBDC race to lay the
foundation of the widespread implementation of its Digital
Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) system. Although over 80
percent of the world’s central banks are engaged in CBDC
research and 40 percent are working on pilot programs, the
People’s Bank of China (PBoC) leads in this domain.
After being engaged in cryptocurrency research since 2014,
China launched the digital yuan in 2020 with the aim of
achieving its extensive circulation domestically by the 2022
Winter Olympics in Beijing. The coming year is therefore set
to be a critical period for the DCEP, as China aims to
emerge as a leader in the space and gain dominance over the
US in their great power competition. The coming year is
therefore set to be a critical period for the DCEP, as China
aims to emerge as a leader in the space and gain dominance
over the US in their technological great power
competition... |
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ISDP |
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Mitigating the Risk of a China–India Conflict, June 2021.
More than a year has passed since Chinese troops began to occupy
previously Indian-controlled territory on their disputed border in
Ladakh. The crisis has cooled and settled into a stalemate. This report
warns that it could escalate again, and flare into a conflict with
region-wide implications. The report assesses the risk of conflict by
analysing its likelihood and consequences. A possible war would be
costly for both India and China. But a possible war could also risk
stirring Indian distrust of its new partners, especially in the Quad –
Australia, Japan, and the United States. The report outlines some
conditions under which a war would disrupt or dampen those developing
partnerships... |
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ASPI |
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To Deter the PRC, June 2021 .
This Strategic Insights report is the first in a series of essays,
workshops and events seeking to better understand the nature of
deterrence, particularly from the viewpoint of the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The series is a
joint project between the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)
and the US China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI). Over the coming
months, ASPI and CASI, along with our research associates, will examine
the concept of deterrence, how both democratic countries and the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) approach deterrence, what liberal
democracies are doing to deter China and what China is doing to deter
them, and assess the impacts of those efforts... |
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ASPI |
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France’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Its Overseas Territories in the
Indian and Pacific Oceans: Characteristics, Capabilities, Constraints
and Avenues for Deepening the Franco-Australian Strategic Partnership,
June 2021.
The report analyses France’s military capabilities and cooperation
activities in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, underlining its strengths
and limitations. In terms of its economic presence and official
development assistance commitments, it is clear that the French strategy
suffers significant limitations. However, these may be offset by a
growing commitment from the EU and through strategic partnerships
allowing France to pool efforts at all levels to meet regional and
global challenges. |
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ASPI |
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What if …? Economic Consequences for Australia of a Us-China Conflict
Over Taiwan, June 2021.
What if China were to attempt to seize Taiwan by force and the US and
allies responded militarily? One consequence would be the disruption of
China’s trade with many countries, including Australia. While strategic
analysts have been working over such scenarios for years, there’s been
little study of the likely economic consequences. This study is focused
on the short-term shock to Australia’s economy. The objective is to
contribute to an understanding of the nature of Australia’s economic
relationship with China and the likely paths of adjustment should that
trade be severed. It also explores the options available to the
Australian Government to ameliorate the worst of the effects of what
would be a severe economic shock... |
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ASPI |
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Mapping China's Tech Giants: Reining in China’s Technology Giants,
Published 2021.
Since the launch of ASPI ICPC’s Mapping China’s Technology Giants
project in April 2019, the Chinese technology companies we canvassed
have gone through a tumultuous period. While most were buoyed by the
global Covid-19 pandemic, which stimulated demand for technology
services around the world, many were buffeted by an unprecedented
onslaught of sanctions from abroad, before being engulfed in a
regulatory storm at home. The environment in which the Chinese tech
companies are operating has changed radically, as the pandemic
sensitised multiple governments, multilateral groups and companies to
their own critical supply-chain vulnerabilities... |
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ASPI |
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Mapping China's Tech Giants: Supply Chains & The Global Data Collection
Ecosystem, Published 2021. Most of the 27 companies tracked
by our Mapping China’s Technology Giants project are heavily involved in
the collection and processing of vast quantities of personal and
organisational data— everything from personal social media accounts, to
smart cities data, to biomedical data.Their
business operations—and associated international collaborations—depend
on the flow of vast amounts of data, often governed by the data privacy
laws of multiple jurisdictions. Currently, however, existing global
policy debates and subsequent policy responses concerning security in
the digital supply chain miss the bigger picture because they typically
prioritise the potential for disruption or malicious alterations of the
supply chain... |
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ASPI |
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Jagged Sphere: China’s Quest for Infrastructure and Influence in
Mainland Southeast Asia, June 2021. Mainland Southeast Asia
is a region characterised by a vast asymmetry, between the state
destined to become the world’s largest economy — China — and three of
the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This means the region
risks being drawn into a Chinese sphere of influence. The connective
infrastructure being developed across China’s borders and traversing
mainland Southeast Asia has the potential to reshape strategic
geography, as well as the regional economic landscape. Closely tied to
state interests, China’s investment is carving out new transport routes
to the sea — in the form of road, rail, and waterways — and establishing
new nodes of control in the form of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). This
paper assesses progress on these lines and nodes and finds a mixed
picture. While the weaker governance of Laos and Myanmar means they are
attracted to SEZs and vulnerable to Chinese investment and erosion of
sovereignty, transport corridors are progressing more slowly... |
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Lowy |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #13: Widodo’s Employment Creation Law, 2020:
What Its Journey Tells Us about Indonesian Politics. On
12 February 2020, the Indonesian government sent a draft for a
Bill, the Cipta Kerja Bill, to the Indonesian parliament. Soon
afterwards the RUU Cipta Kerja Working Committee (Panitia Kerja,
or PANJA) was established with representatives from all parties
sitting in the committee, except the Justice and Prosperity
Party (PKS). The PANJA Committee was headed by a member of
Gerindra Party, with a deputy chairperson from the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). This committee would
prepare material for the various stages of the House of
Representatives consideration of the Bill... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #12: From Pakatan Harapan to Perikatan
Nasional: A Missed Opportunity for Reforms for East Malaysia?. Sabah
and Sarawak formed the Malaysian Federation together with Malaya
and Singapore in 1963. Instrumental to the formation of the new
Federation was an international treaty called the Malaysia
Agreement 1963, signed in London by the British and Malayan
Federation governments, and political representatives from Sabah,
Sarawak and Singapore. The Malaysian Agreement guaranteed a
special position as demanded by the East Malaysian political
elites in the areas of religion and language, finance and tax,
judiciary and immigration... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #11: The Growing Salience of Online
Vietnamese Nationalism. A multinational fashion
retailer. The prime minister of Singapore. A COVID-19 patient
who is the daughter of an ultra-wealthy Vietnamese family. They
have all been the targets of online Vietnamese nationalists
under different circumstances. Indeed, recent manifestations of
potent online nationalism in Vietnamese cybersphere have forced
the authorities to become acutely wary of, sensitive to and even
accommodating of it. This marks a significant development in the
social media landscape... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #10: Digital Mediatization and the
Sharpening of Malaysian Political Contests. The
emergence of digital media in the Malaysia was due to the
government’s initiative to tap into the information and
communications technology (ICT) sector in an effort to open up
new economic frontiers. The introduction of the Multimedia Super
Corridor (MSC) in 1996 was an attempt to lure world-class
multinational technology companies into Malaysia to boost the
local digital industry... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #9: Centre-Periphery Relations in Myanmar:
Leverage and Solidarity after the 1 February Coup. The
1 February 2021 coup in Myanmar has forced a reckoning over how
to build solidarity across difference, including across ethnic
divides. Days after the coup, protesters thronged the streets of
major cities. Although they were united by a desire to fell the
State Administration Council (SAC) junta, their demands diverged
in other respects. In predominantly Bamar areas such as Yangon
and Mandalay, protesters wore red, symbolizing the ousted
National League for Democracy (NLD)... |
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ISEAS |
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Latest APEC publications:
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APEC |
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Latest ADB publications:
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Asia Bond Monitor, June 2021
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Poverty, Vulnerability, and Fiscal Sustainability in the
People's Republic of China, June 2021 (Full
report,
Highlights)
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ADB’s Rapid COVID-19 Response in Southeast Asia, June 2021
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100 Climate Actions from Cities in Asia and the Pacific,
June 2021
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Cloud Computing as a Key Enabler for Digital Government
across Asia and the Pacific, June 2021
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Summary of Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the
Asian Development Bank, May 2021
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Financing Clean Energy in Developing Asia, June 2021
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The 14th Five-Year Plan of the People’s Republic of
China—Fostering High-Quality Development, Published 2021
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ADB |
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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June, 2021 |
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Deterrence Through Denial: A Strategy for an Era of Reduced Warning
Time, May 2021.
Australia now needs to implement serious changes to how warning time is
considered in defence planning. The need to plan for reduced warning
time has implications for the Australian intelligence community, defence
strategic policy, force structure priorities, readiness and
sustainability. Important changes will also be needed with respect to
personnel, stockpiles of missiles and munitions, and fuel supplies. We
can no longer assume that Australia will have time gradually to adjust
military capability and preparedness in response to emerging threats. In
other words, there must be a new approach in Defence to managing
warning, capability and preparedness, and detailed planning for rapid
expansion and sustainment... |
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ASPI |
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North of 26 Degrees South and the Security of Australia: Views From the
Strategist Volume 3, May 2021.
It is an all-new series of articles by a range of authors exploring the
continued importance of Northern Australia to national security and
defence strategy. This Volume’s contributions were written over a year
in which increased strategic uncertainty and an unprecedented global
pandemic have collectively generated an interest in revisiting old
policy assumptions. Right from the start, it was clear that we need to
think of the north as the middle of the region, rather than the edge of
Australia, and reflect that critical role in Australia’s political,
military and economic strategies moving forward... |
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ASPI |
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Stronger Together: US Force Posture in Australia’s North—a US
Perspective on Australia’s Strategic Geography, May 2021.
This report argues why, and analyses how, Australia’s defence force
capabilities and strategic geography can enable US force posture
initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to promote greater regional cooperation
in ways that advance US and Australian national interests. Lieutenant
Colonel Hanks writes that there are ‘practical and tangible areas for
US-Australia cooperation and growth which include: 1) expanding the
Australian defence industrial base while securing and hardening supply
chains; 2) increasing US Army force posture in northern Australia; 3)
increasing multinational training opportunities; and 4) in conjunction
with Australia, expanding the defence partnership with Indonesia.’... |
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ASPI |
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Somebody Might Hear Us: Emerging Communications Security Technologies,
May 2021.
Militaries have been trying to keep their communications safe from
prying eyes for centuries. But they have also sought to be able to
communicate as quickly as possible and as widely as possible with their
own forces. Those requirements are in tension with one another. Today,
militaries can communicate globally over increasingly capacious data
pipes. But the same technological evolution that allows them to do that
has also given would-be eavesdroppers new and powerful tools to collect
and exploit signals. In this report, author Dr Andrew Davies explains
the principles of secure communication and uses some examples of
emerging technologies to illustrate what the next generation of secure
communications might look like... |
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ASPI |
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Australia's South China Sea Challenges, May 2021. Australia’s
current South China Sea policies are under strain from two sides. On the
China side, Beijing will not agree to any Code of Conduct that is
consistent with the arbitral tribunal ruling it rejects. If the ASEAN
member states agree to such a Code of Conduct, Australia cannot support
it. On the US side, there is an increasing likelihood that the Biden
administration will place more pressure on Australia to conduct freedom
of navigation operations (FONOPs) in support of the 2016 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruling, forcing Australia to
choose between damaging our relations with China or rejecting a request
from the United States... |
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Lowy |
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Countering China’s Adventurism Over Taiwan: A Third Way, May 2021.
Faced with the possibility of another Taiwan Strait crisis, more and
more observers in Washington and elsewhere are making the case for an
unambiguous US commitment to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese
attack. This essay contends that the United States has options between
total commitment and abandonment. There is a prudent middle way in which
the United States, while reserving the right to intervene if it so
chooses, focuses on helping Taiwan to defend itself while building a
menu of options for deterring and punishing Beijing’s aggression without
fighting.This essay first argues that the case for Taiwan’s strategic
significance is often overdrawn. Any Chinese attack would be a tragedy
and a crime, and the United States should make clear that such a step is
unacceptable and would destroy the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitious
development plans... |
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Lowy |
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The Crisis After the Crisis: How Ladakh Will Shape India’s Competition
With China, May 2021. In May 2020, China launched several
near-simultaneous incursions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in
Ladakh, into territory hitherto controlled by India. Both sides
reinforced their positions with tens of thousands of troops, engaged in
a deadly skirmish, and reportedly came close to war. An agreement to
disengage troops was announced in February 2021, but implementation has
been halting. Regardless of how disengagement progresses, the crisis
poses significant challenges for India’s long-term strategic competition
with China. As a result of the Ladakh crisis, India faces a new
strategic reality in which China is a clear and abiding adversary. For
India, the political relationship is now defined by hostility and
distrust, and the LAC will remain more heavily militarised and
violence-prone... |
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Lowy |
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Hun Sen's Mistake? The Domestic Political Ramifications of His
Chinese Shelter, May 2021.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s close relationship with the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) has led scholars and
policymakers alike to suggest that Beijing’s backing will keep
him in power. While Hun Sen himself seems to believe this to be
true, his reliance on China is actually enflaming Cambodian
discontent to such an extent that his planned patrimonial
succession is at risk. Given the fragility of regimes
mid-succession, Hun Sen’s Chinese shelter is augmenting the
potential of his clan’s fall. Yet as Hun Sen faces increased
domestic opposition, he will only further deepen ties with China
in hopes of remaining in power, thereby creating a vicious cycle
from which escaping will prove difficult. |
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EWC |
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Improving Land
Connectivity Around the Bay of Bengal is Essential for
Integration, May 2021.
Facilitating cross-border movement by road is the most critical
element of any strategy for greater economic integration among
BIMSTEC countries. Cross-border road freight can facilitate even
a small consignment to be delivered directly across the border
with cost-effectiveness; unlike a full railway rake or even a
coastal short-sea feeder vessel which require some level of
aggregation of consignments into a larger parcel of goods.
Direct road services also reduce multiple handling and
trans-shipment requirements... |
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EWC |
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Sri Lanka’s
Asia-Centric Focus in a Contested Bay of Bengal Region, May 2021.
The Bay of Bengal – home to one of the world’s pre-eminent
historic trading networks – is once again at the nexus of rising
regional and global rivalries. A multiplicity of port
developments along the Bay of Bengal littoral underscore the
tussle for control of maritime connectivity and trade—as well as
diplomatic and defense advantage. Against the backdrop of a
weakened post COVID-19 global economy, and as countries seek
every possible advantage, the probability of competing tensions
spilling over into outright confrontations and tit-for-tat
retaliatory measures is high... |
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EWC |
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Dealing with
Coronavirus Pandemic in the Bay of Bengal Region, May 2021.
The coronavirus has had a devastating impact on the health and
economies of countries in the Bay of Bengal. India, Bangladesh,
and Nepal are the region’s most affected countries in terms of
COVID-19 cases and deaths, followed by Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and
Thailand. It seems that Bhutan and Thailand, the least affected
countries in the region, have successfully escaped the brunt of
the pandemic. All these countries implemented strict lockdowns
as early as March 2020, and the region’s recovery rates have
been relatively high. However, the devastation from the pandemic
did not reach its peak until after the lifting of lockdowns. The
economic costs of the pandemic have soared and are still
climbing... |
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EWC |
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Making BIMSTEC
a Regional Vehicle for Nepal’s Economic Growth, May 2021.
Recently, the government of Nepal, led by Nepal Communist Party
Chairman KP Sharma Oli who ascended to power in 2018, came up
with an integrated foreign policy that reflects rapid changes in
both the domestic and geopolitical spheres. The new foreign
policy has shifted from a traditional course to a modern one
with “Economic Diplomacy” as the main driver. With the slogan of
“Happy Nepali, Prosperous Nepal”, Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar
Gyawali has prioritized engagement with regional groupings. It
is in this context that the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation or (BIMSTEC), established in
1996, with a permanent secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh, could
serve as an important platform in achieving Nepal’s foreign
policy goals of development and prosperity... |
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EWC |
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Harnessing
Inland Waterways for Inclusive Trade Among Bay of Bengal
Countries, May 2021.
The transboundary rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna along
with their tributaries and distributaries create a vibrant water
grid connecting their riparian countries. Historically, these
rivers have played a prominent role in shaping the economy of
the Indian sub-continent as a major means of trade and
transportation. In the post-colonial era, new political
boundaries between countries mostly cut off these riverine
networks because the priority of the newly-established countries
and their governments was to develop road and rail networks for
internal consolidation and integration more efficiently. Hence,
waterways connectivity among new regional countries was
comparatively neglected... |
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EWC |
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Importance of
the Bay of Bengal as a Causeway between the Indian and Pacific
Oceans, May 2021.
The core Bay of Bengal countries today account for a population
of almost 1.78 billion, while adjacent states with interest
account for an additional 490 million. The “core states” (X, Y,
Z) have a combined GDP of approximately $7.5 trillion, while
adjacent states with interest add another $811 billion. While
SAARC countries’ total intra-regional trade accounts for only 5%
of their total global trade, ASEAN has a more respectable 25%
intra trade while EU and North America boast 40-50%. One may
reasonably imagine an economically and ecologically integrated
Bay of Bengal community to increase SAARC’s current
comparatively low figure, given their advantage in population,
demography, and entrepreneurial vigor... |
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EWC |
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Forging a Bay
of Bengal Community is the Need of the Hour, May 2021.
The Bay of Bengal, the world’s largest Bay, is strategically
located in the Indian Ocean. On its western rim, lies the
coastline of the Indian Peninsula and to its south, the island
nation of Sri Lanka. To the east the bay connects key parts of
Southeast Asia including Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand as well as
the Andaman Sea and the Malacca straits. At its very northern
cusp lies Bangladesh, which is also the delta of the great
rivers of Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna. These rivers connect
the Bay in a unique “mountain to sea” ecosystem with natural
connectivity to the Bay for the landlocked states of North
Eastern India and the Himalayan nations of Nepal and Bhutan. In
turn, the monsoon currents which regulate the climate of the Bay
of Bengal gather moisture from the bay and dictate precipitation
patterns in the mountains and plains in the hinterland... |
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EWC |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #8: The Serious Social Impact of Non-violent
Extremism in Indonesia. The rise of religious extremism
in public discourses is a cause for concern for government
officials and moderate Muslims. While a substantial body of
research on violent extremism is available, the issue of
non-violent extremism remains neglected by scholars. Although
exposure and subscription to non-violent extremism do not
automatically lead to violence, it still needs to be curbed
because it can fan hatred that in turn can lead to physical
violence and repression of human rights. Non-violent extremism
also boosts polarization in the community. Given this potential
impact, the government needs to pay more attention to the
dissemination of non-violent extremist public discourses,
especially on social media. It could work together with
influential religious organizations which possess immense
religious authority and legitimacy. |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #7: How Generation Z Galvanized a
Revolutionary Movement against Myanmar’s 2021 Military Coup. On
1 February 2021, under the command of General Min Aung Hlaing,
Myanmar’s military initiated a coup, apparently drawing to a
close Myanmar’s ten-year experiment with democratic rule. State
Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were
arrested along with other elected officials. Mass protests
against the coup ensued, led by Gen Z youths who shaped a
values-based democratic revolutionary movement that in character
is anti-military regime, anti-China influence,
anti-authoritarian, anti-racist, and anti-sexist... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #6: The Military in Burma/Myanmar: On the
Longevity of Tatmadaw Rule and Influence. The Myanmar
military has dominated that complex country for most of the
period since independence in 1948. The fourth coup of 1 February
2021 was the latest by the military to control those aspects of
society it deemed essential to its own interests, and its
perception of state interests. The military’s institutional
power was variously maintained by rule by decree, through
political parties it founded and controlled, and through
constitutional provisions it wrote that could not be amended
without its approval. This fourth coup seems a product of
personal demands for power between Senior General Min Aung
Hlaing and Aung San Suu Kyi, and the especially humiliating
defeat of the military-backed party at the hands of the National
League for Democracy in the November 2020 elections... |
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ISEAS |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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ADB |
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
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What Determines Coal Consumption for Heating Residential
Space in Central Asia? May 2021
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Can the Internet Buy Working Hours of Married Women in Micro
and Small Enterprises? Evidence from Yogyakarta, Indonesia,
May 2021
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Individual Subjective Well-Being during the COVID-19
Pandemic, May 2021
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Technology Spillovers, Asset Redeployability, and Corporate
Financial Policies, April 2021
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Indonesian ICT Workers: Determinants and Strategy to Support
National Digital Transformation, April 2021
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Investigation of Japan’s Value Chain through R&D and
Innovation under Demographic Change: Implications for
Digitalization in the Post-COVID-19 Era, April 2021
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Rooftop Solar Development in India: Measuring Policies and
Mapping Business Models, April 2021
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Initial Output Losses from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Robust
Determinants, April 2021
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Impact of Information Technology and E-Commerce on
Indonesia’s Trade to ASEAN Countries, April 2021
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“Sanitation” in the Top Development Journals: A Review,
April 2021
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ADB |
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Latest APEC publications:
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Key Trends Report: APEC Global Supply Chains Resiliency
Survey - Large Business, May 2021
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Key Trends Report: APEC Global Supply Chains Resiliency
Survey - Small to Medium Enterprises, May 2021
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Environmental Services in the APEC Region: Definition,
Challenges and Opportunities, May 2021
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Key Trends Report: APEC Global Supply Chains Resiliency
Survey - Industry and Government, May 2021
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APEC Workshop on the R&D and Promotion of Smart Agriculture,
May 2021
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APEC Global Supply Chains Resiliency Survey: Key Highlights
and Policy Recommendations, May 2021
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APEC Regional Trends Analysis, May 2021: Bolstering Supply
Chains, Rebuilding Global Trade; Making Recovery Inclusive,
May 2021
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Interactive APEC Workshop: Women Amidst Digital Economy, May
2021
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Managing the Long-term Economic Effects of the Flexible Work
Arrangements, May 2021
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Promoting Trade in Vaccines and Related Supplies and
Equipment, May 2021
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Consultation Paper on Resolving Corporate Insolvency in APEC
Economies in the Aftermath of the Covid-19 Pandemic,
Published 2021
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13th Conference on Good Regulatory Practices (GRP13), April
2021
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APEC |
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May, 2021 |
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COVID-19
Crisis Response Offers Insight into Evolving U.S.-Cambodia
Relations, April 2021.
Last year’s MS Westerdam cruise ship fiasco - in which 1,455
passengers and 802 crew were turned away from five different
ports before being welcomed by Cambodia - raised many questions
regarding how governments and the international community can
improve their responses to global health crises. It also offers
a window into the Cambodian government’s response to a global
health crisis in the context of an important bilateral
relationship — U.S.-Cambodia relations. Shortly after 700 new
passengers boarded the Westerdam in Hong Kong on February 1 the
cruise ship found itself stranded in the Indian and Pacific
oceans ping-ponging between Japan, Guam, the Philippines, and
Thailand until February 13, when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun
Sen allowed the Westerdam to dock in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
The incident serves as an interesting window into how domestic
regime security considerations combined with mixed motives in
international relations influenced Cambodian decision making... |
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EWC |
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After XI: Future Scenarios for Leadership Succession in Post-XI Jinping
Era, April 2021.
After nearly nine years in office, Xi Jinping now stands as the
overwhelmingly dominant figure in China’s political system, having
gained command of the military, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
apparatus, and diplomatic and economic policymaking, all while
sidelining or locking up rivals to his leadership. His drive for power,
however, has destabilised elite political consensus and dismantled
power-sharing norms that evolved since the 1980s. By removing de facto
term limits on the office of the presidency — and thus far refusing to
nominate his successor for this and his other leadership positions — Xi
has solidified his own authority at the expense of the most important
political reform of the last four decades: the regular and peaceful
transfer of power. In doing so, he has pushed China towards a potential
destabilising succession crisis, one with profound implications for the
international order and global commerce... |
|
Lowy |
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Chinese-Australians in the Australian Public Service, April 2021.
Chinese–Australian communities are invaluable sources of China-related
expertise, yet their people are underrepresented in the country’s public
service roles. Possible reasons include limited recruitment efforts,
problems with gaining security clearances, failure to match existing
skills with public service roles, and preconceptions based on perceived
security risks. Where China literacy does exist in the Australian Public
Service (APS), it is often underutilised or undervalued. The dearth of
China capability means the public service is not drawing on an important
source of talent, skills, and advice to develop Australia’s policies on
China... |
|
Lowy |
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Gamechanger: Australian Leadership for All-Season Air Access to
Antarctica, April 2021.
Next year, the Australian Government will decide on whether to commit
funding for a proposed year-round, paved aerodrome near the Australian
Davis research station in East Antarctica. An all-weather, year-round,
paved runway near Davis would have huge positive impacts on Antarctic
science and logistics in East Antarctica, where there are no equivalent
facilities. It would be the only paved runway in Antarctica. As with any
major piece of infrastructure development, there’ll be inevitable
environmental impacts from the construction and operation of the Davis
aerodrome. However, we believe that with care, it should be possible to
design, construct and operate a facility that satisfies both operational
requirements and environmental obligations under the Madrid Protocol and
relevant Australian legislation... |
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ASPI |
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Next Step in the Step-Up: The ADF’s Role in Building Health Security in
Pacific Island States, April 2021.
The ADF has long had an important role in providing humanitarian
assistance to Pacific island countries (PICs). The force has
extraordinary capabilities—people, expertise, training and equipment—in
delivering necessary assistance quickly and efficiently. From
Australia’s perspective, the ADF is one of our most important agencies
in engaging with our PIC partners, particularly in helping them to
develop capabilities to address a range of security challenges. In
Australia’s new strategic environment, the ADF can also play an
important role in helping to build regional health security as part of a
new phase in Australia’s Pacific Step-up... |
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ASPI |
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The Rapidly Emerging Crisis on Our Doorstep, April 2021.
This Strategic Insight report warns that within a decade, as the climate
continues to warm, the relatively benign strategic environment in
Maritime Southeast Asia - a region of crucial importance to Australia -
will begin unravelling. Dr Robert Glasser, Head of ASPI's new Climate
and Security Policy Centre, documents the region’s globally unique
exposure to climate hazards, and the increasingly significant cascading
societal impacts they will trigger. Dr Glasser notes that hundreds of
millions of people living in low-lying coastal areas will not only
experience more severe extremes, but also more frequent swings from
extreme heat and drought to severe floods. The diminishing time for
recovery in between these events will have major consequences for food
security, population displacements and resilience... |
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ASPI |
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Island Voices and COVID-19: Vulnerability and Resilience Views From the
Strategist, April 2021.
This Strategic Insights report is being published as part of an ASPI
project that focuses on the vulnerabilities of Indo-Pacific island
states in the Covid-19 era. It presents a series of views on ways that
insiders and external observers have viewed the vulnerabilities and
resilience of island countries in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in
dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. All of these contributions have
appeared as posts on The Strategist. They don’t try to offer a
sequential account of events or perceptions but represent a collection
of responses to the crisis. The authors were not asked to address a
single issue but, rather, were encouraged to focus on issues of
relevance to them. The result is a mosaic rather than a portrait of
nearly a year of living with the tensions posed by the pandemic. Two key
themes do tend to dominate this mosaic. One concerns the way
vulnerabilities are expressed as challenges. The second identifies the
opportunities that resilience can create. |
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ASPI |
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The Impact of Quantum Technologies on Secure Communications, April 2021.
It provides an overview of the key technologies and the status of the
field in Australia and internationally (including escalating recent
developments in both the US and China), and captures counterpart US, UK
and Canadian reports and recommendations to those nations’ defence
departments that have recently been released publicly. The report is
structured into six sections: an introduction that provides a
stand-alone overview and sets out both the threat and the opportunity of
quantum technologies for communications security, and more detailed
sections that span quantum computing, quantum encryption, the quantum
internet, and post-quantum cryptography... |
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ASPI |
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Cracking the Missile Matrix: The Case for Australian Guided Weapons
Production, April 2021.
Last year’s war between Azerbaijan and Armenia was short, sharp and
decisive. By effectively employing precision guided weapons, the former
rapidly forced the latter to capitulate and accede to its political
demands. The conflict confirmed the centrality of guided weapons to
modern war fighting and showed how small states can now master the
technologies and techniques needed to use them. Last year also witnessed
the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the supply-chain crisis it
triggered. That provoked much soul-searching from governments and
companies about how to manage the risks presented by modern just-in-time
supply chains that span the globe... |
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ASPI |
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Counterterrorism Yearbook 2021.
The 2021 yearbook provides a comprehensive picture of the current global
terrorism landscape. The yearbook's 29 authors found Covid-19—a key
theme in most chapters—to have had an impact on global terrorism.
However, pervasive online social media platforms have played a more
significant role, increasing terrorists’ ability to radicalise and
incite individuals to commit terrorist acts, as well as encouraging
financial support to terrorist groups. The yearbook begins with an
overview of current trends and the terrorism landscape in 2020
identified in the 8th Global Terrorism Index (GTI) produced by
Australia’s Institute for Economics and Peace... |
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ASPI |
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Japan-UK: “Progressive” Ties and a Case for Britain in the
CPTPP, April 2021.
The UK’s entry into the landmark CPTPP agreement, led by
Japan, could be a breakthrough in advancing Britain’s global
ambitions as an independent trading nation and encourage a
stronger cross-continental collaboration. It would not only
act as a gateway for the UK to become an active player in
the Indo-Pacific, but also substantiate the global overture
of Japan-UK ties and strengthen their collaboration in the
face of shared challenges. It can, in other words, help
transform an already strong Japan-UK relationship into a
global partnership. |
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ISDP |
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Xi Jinping’s Anti-corruption Struggle: Eight Years On, April
2021.
Combating corruption has been an enduring priority for
Chinese leaders who consider it crucial to safeguarding
party-state legitimacy. Yet, despite repeated crackdowns
over the past few decades, corruption is running rampant,
becoming an institutionalized phenomenon that cripples
China’s development prospects. Anti-corruption efforts have
regained momentum under President Xi Jinping, who embarked
on an ambitious mission to sweep through every corner of the
party-state apparatus and ensnare corrupt officials. This
paper assesses the factors and motivations underpinning this
endeavor... |
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ISDP |
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Not a Sovereignty Issue: Understanding the Transition of
Military Operational Control between the United States and
South Korea, April 2021.
The transition of operational control (OPCON) is of
significant importance for the future development of the
alliance of the Republic of Korea and the United States
(KORUS). However, it will likely prove challenging as it is
misunderstood by South Korean public opinion and political
leaders as an issue of sovereignty. If this misconception is
not addressed – there is an urgent need to inform not only
the South Korean public but also political leaders and
opinion makers – the alliance of South Korea and the United
States risks being harmed, with potentially adverse effects
on security on the Korean Peninsula. But if successful, the
OPCON transition will manifest the maturation of the KORUS
alliance, establishing a much more equal partnership. |
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ISDP |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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ADB |
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Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
-
Local Currency Bond Markets, Foreign Investor Participation,
and Capital Flow Volatility in Emerging Asia, April 2021
-
Macroeconomic Impact of COVID-19 in Developing Asia, April
2021
-
Appropriate Technologies for Removing Barriers to the
Expansion of Renewable Energy in Asia: Vertical Axis Wind
Turbines, April 2021
-
Forecasting Private Consumption with Digital Payment Data: A
Mixed Frequency Analysis, April 2021
-
Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Transformation in
the Public Sector in Transition Economies: Examination of
the Case of Uzbekistan, April 2021
-
Scaling Up Sustainable Investment through Blockchain-Based
Project Bonds, April 2021
-
What Matters for Private Investment Financing in Renewable
Energy Globally and in Asia? April 2021
-
Does GVC Participation Improve Firm Productivity? A Study of
Three Developing Asian Countries, April 2021
-
Digital Financial Inclusion, Economic Freedom, Financial
Development, and Growth: Implications from a Panel Data
Analysis, March 2021
-
Digitalization and Economic Performance of Two Fast-Growing
Asian Economies: India and the People’s Republic of China,
March 2021
-
Is
Digital Financial Inclusion Good for Bank Stability and
Sustainable Economic Development? Evidence from Emerging
Asia, March 2021
-
The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Micro, Small, and
Medium Enterprises in Asia and Their Digitalization
Responses, March 2021
-
Are Coastal Protective Hard Structures Still Applicable with
Respect to Shoreline Changes in Sri Lanka? March 2021
-
Building Forward Better: Enhancing Resilience of Asia and
Pacific Economies in a Post-COVID-19 World, March 2021
-
The Role of Captive Power Plants in the Bangladesh
Electricity Sector, March 2021
-
Demographic Dividend, Digital Innovation, and Economic
Growth: Bangladesh Experience, March 2021
-
COVID-19: The Impact on the Economy and Policy Responses—A
Review, March 2021
-
Changes in the Rural Economy in Bangladesh under COVID-19
Lockdown Measures: Evidence from a Phone Survey of Mahbub
Hossain Sample Households, March 2021
-
Why Is Energy Access Not Enough for Choosing Clean Cooking
Fuels? Sustainable Development Goals and Beyond, March 2021
-
Understanding Urban Migration in Viet Nam: Evidence from a
Micro–Macro Link, March 2021
-
Bayesian Gravity Model for Digitalization on Bilateral Trade
Integration in Asia, March 2021
-
No
Flat, No Child in Singapore: Cointegration Analysis of
Housing, Income, and Fertility, March 2021
-
The Blueness Index, Investment Choice, and Portfolio
Allocation, March 2021
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ADB |
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Latest APEC publications:
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APEC |
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Journal of Global Buddhism,
Volume
21, 2020 |
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JGB |
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April, 2021 |
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High
Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current Quarter Model:
2021Q2, March 2021. Given the worst global recession
brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong’s economy
shrank by 6.1% in 2020. The tightened social distancing
measures brought by the fourth wave of COVID-19 started
in December 2020 heavily dampened Hong Kong’s domestic
demand in 21Q1. Hong Kong’s real GDP is forecast to drop
by 1.2% in 21Q1, less than the 3.0% drop in 20Q4. Along
with the recovery of the economy in Mainland China and
the implementation of the vaccination program, Hong
Kong’s economic recovery is now under way. The rebound
is expected to be intensive, especially when compared
with a lower base... |
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HKU |
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The U.S.-Japan
Relationship: Modeling New Frontiers in Subnational Diplomacy,
March 2021.
In our increasingly networked world, the international
activities of states, cities, and other subnational actors are
expanding rapidly. Their rising importance has spurred Congress
to consider legislation establishing an Office of Subnational
Diplomacy within the U.S. State Department that would
institutionalize and support these initiatives, while better
aligning them with national diplomatic strategies. Moreover,
they offer opportunities for envisioning new foreign policy
approaches that directly benefit U.S. communities. The
U.S.-Japan relationship — with its robust history of subnational
interaction, strategic global interests and increasingly
integrated economies — offers a fertile environment for
developing and implementing new models for subnational
diplomacy, with global applicability... |
|
EWC |
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United
States-Japan Cooperation on Democracy and Equity Should Tackle
Gender and Racial Justice, March 2021.
The U.S.-Japan alliance is viewed as a cornerstone of stability,
the rule of law, and promotion of democracy in the Indo-Pacific.
The new U.S. administration presents an important opportunity to
strengthen and refocus relationships and initiatives in the
region as they aim to tackle the challenges of an assertive
China. In the context of globalization and transnational social
justice movements, there is no longer such a clear delineation
between the politics of domestic issues, such as political
underrepresentation and minority rights, and those affecting
foreign policy. Under the new administration, the United States
and Japan have ample opportunity to reinvigorate democratic
advancement, especially on gender and racial justice. To this
end, civil society and social movement groups play a key role in
demonstrating why only democracy can ensure the sustainability
of representative institutions, cohesive societies, and
inclusive economies driven by innovation and opportunity... |
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EWC |
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Navigating the
Rift Between Micronesia and the Pacific Islands Forum, March
2021.
While the U.S. presidential election was garnering much of the
world's attention, another acrimonious election was roiling the
Pacific, causing the entire Micronesian bloc of nations to exit
the region's leading policy-making body, the Pacific Islands
Forum (PIF). This is an opportune time to re-think the PIF and
possibly realign Pacific regional architecture in preparation
for future challenges. The Republic of Palau left the Forum on
February 5, followed three days later by the Federated States of
Micronesia (FSM), Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Nauru, and
Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). That all five countries
chose to leave the PIF was an act of remarkable Micronesian
solidarity. The immediate reason for their departure was the
February 4 election of a non-Micronesian as the PIF's new
secretary-general... |
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EWC |
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Coming Ready or Not: Hypersonic Weapons, March 2021.
This report analyses the future impact that hypersonic weaponery will
have on global affairs. Hypersonic systems include anything that travels
faster than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. We may be on the
cusp of seeing hypersonic weapons proliferate around the world, with
Russia, China and the US all in the process of developing and testing
them. By 2030 they are likely to be in the inventory of all of the major
powers. And Australia might well join them - we have some world class
researchers and have been active in joint programs with the US for over
20 years. The government has added hypersonic weapons to its defence
acquisition plan. It's a topic we should be interested in and better
informed about... |
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ASPI |
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Strange Bedfellows on Xinjiang: The Ccp, Fringe Media and US Social
Media Platforms, March 2021.
This report explores how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), fringe media
and pro-CCP online actors seek—sometimes in unison—to shape and
influence international perceptions of the Chinese Government’s human
rights abuses in Xinjiang, including through the amplification of
disinformation. United States (US) based social media networks,
including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, along with Chinese-owned TikTok
(owned by Chinese company ByteDance), are centre stage for this global
effort... |
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ASPI |
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'High Rollers' a Study of Criminal Profits Along Australia’s Heroin and
Methamphetamine Supply Chains, March 2021.
This report helps develop an understanding of the quantum of profits
being made and where in the value chain they occur. Australians spent
approximately A$5.8 billion on methamphetamine and A$470 million on
heroin in FY 2019. Approximately A$1,216,806,017 was paid to
international wholesalers overseas for the amphetamine and heroin that
was smuggled into Australia in that year. The profit that remained in
Australia’s economy was about A$5,012,150,000. Those funds are
undermining Australia’s public health and distorting our economy daily,
and ultimately funding drug cartels and traffickers in Southeast Asia... |
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ASPI |
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The New Asia, February 2021.
Current global health and economic crises mark another
inflection point for a rapidly transforming Asia, which is
characterized by the rise of a more geographically
expansive, multi-polar, and polycentric regional order. This
new Asian order breaks with previous predictions of
Sino-centric regional development in important ways.
However, it is also an order in which the United States will
become a less pivotal, if still potent, player. |
|
ISDP |
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Stable and in Control? China’s Party Regime and its
Challenges, February 2021.
Despite domestic and international difficulties, the
survival and stability of the Chinese Communist regime does
not seem to be severely threatened. China’s successful
domestic handling of the pandemic and its quick economic
recovery has served to reaffirm the confidence of the
Chinese leadership in the superiority of their
political-economic system and will have boosted the domestic
standing of the regime... |
|
ISDP |
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Water as a Political Security Tool: The Himalaya’s Strategic
Conundrum, February 2021.
Fresh water has no substitute, and its availability has been
declining sharply around the globe. In Asia, China’s role as
a multidirectional and trans-border water provider is
debatable. Analysis of China’s behavior towards its
trans-boundary rivers is, therefore, pivotal. This essay
pits previously applied realist rationales against the more
recent notion of de-securitization strategies. While
de-securitization implies non- or de-escalation, it does not
necessarily mean genuine long-term cooperation... |
|
ISDP |
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The Changing Power-Relations in the Indo-Pacific: Decoding
New Delhi’s Strategic Outlook, February 2021.
The growing importance of the maritime sphere for trade and
connectivity has made the seas and oceans arenas of stiff
competition and contestation. There is intense tussle
between the emerging and the established economies for
greater control over the sea lanes and oceanic networks for
resources, commerce, and connectivity. This has led to a
dynamic shift in the focus towards security in the maritime
domain. In the context of the evolving geo-strategic
construct of the Indo-Pacific, it becomes important to
understand the altering contours of rapidly changing
power-relations in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions... |
|
ISDP |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #5: Gaps and Opportunities in ASEAN’s
Climate Governance. Although climate-linked impacts on
ASEAN’s economy, increasing vulnerability to severe weather, and
interlinkages to transboundary haze, health, security and marine
pollution are evident, a recent survey by the ISEAS – Yusof
Ishak Institute reveals that Southeast Asians are ambivalent
about ASEAN’s effectiveness in tackling climate change. All
ASEAN Member States (AMS) are fully committed to accelerating
reductions to global emissions under the Paris Agreement and
demonstrate political will to set up intersectoral climate
governance on renewable energy transition, agriculture and food
security, forest and land use protection, disaster risk
management, conservation on biodiversity, among many other
measures... |
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ISEAS |
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Trends in
Southeast Asia 2021 #4: Vietnam-China Agricultural Trade: Huge
Growth and Challenges. Agricultural products are one of
Vietnam’s most important exports, contributing considerably to
the overall export turnover of the country. Vietnam’s
agricultural exports are easily affected by external factors. It
is overly dependent on the Chinese market, and its agricultural
products do not as yet meet strict global standards. Challenges
facing Vietnam’s export of fruits and vegetables to the Chinese
market include technical barriers, long risk assessment periods,
restrictions on products exported through official quotas to the
Chinese market, and frequent changes in China’s policy on border
crossings... |
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ISEAS |
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Global Trends and Malaysia’s Automotive Sector: Ambitions vs.
Reality, March 2021. The paper seeks to examine the
development of the Malaysian automotive sector in the midst of
rapid global changes in technology, consumer preferences and
sustainability concerns. The sector represents a case of infant
industry protection which includes, among its objectives, the
state’s aspiration to nurture Bumiputera entrepreneurs as
national champions for the sector. Despite close to three
decades of protection, the two national car projects continue to
depend on foreign partners for technology support. The National
Automotive Policies (NAPs) strive to push the sector towards the
technology frontier with foreign and domestic investments while
seeking to be a regional hub and grooming national Bumiputera
champions... |
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ISEAS |
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Using Regionalism for Globalisation: The ASEAN Way, February
2021. In assessing regionalism, it has become customary
to look to the European experience to serve as a benchmark
against which all other regional integration programs are
judged. But ASEAN is different. Compared to Europe, it is
outward- rather than inward-looking, market rather than
government driven, and institution light rather than heavy.
These differences reflect the very different motivations and
objectives of the two regional programs. ASEAN’s success lies in
its almost unique achievement of using regionalism for
globalisation. The metrics that we use to assess regionalism
must reflect true objectives, even if they lie below the
surface. Widely used indicators such as shares of intra-regional
trade and investment not only fail to capture the real story,
but they can point in the wrong direction. |
|
ISEAS |
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The Prospects and Dangers of Algorithmic Credit Scoring in
Vietnam: Regulating a Legal Blindspot, January 2021. Artificial
intelligence (AI) and big data are transforming the credit
market in Vietnam. Lenders increasingly use ‘algorithmic credit
scoring’ to assess borrowers’ creditworthiness or likelihood and
willingness to repay loan. This technology gleans
non-traditional data from smartphones and analyses them through
machine learning algorithms. Algorithmic credit scoring promises
greater efficiency, accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and speed in
predicting risk compared to traditional credit scoring systems
that are based on economic data and human discretion... |
|
ISEAS |
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Latest APEC publications:
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APEC |
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Latest ADB Working Paper Series:
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|
ADB |
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|
Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:
-
Automation, COVID-19, and Labor Markets, March 2021
-
Juggling Paid Work and Elderly Care Provision in Japan: Does
a Flexible Work Environment Help Family Caregivers Cope?
March 2021
-
Governing the Sustainable Development Goals in the COVID-19
Era: Bringing Back Hierarchic Styles of Governance? March
2021
-
Impacts of COVID-19 on Households in ASEAN Countries and
Their Implications for Human Capital Development, March 2021
-
Promoting Sustainable Development through Realizing the
Demographic Dividend Opportunity in the Digital Economy: A
Case Study of Nepal, March 2021
-
Labor Supply of Older Workers in Thailand: The Role of
Co-residence, Health, and Pensions, March 2021
-
Bracing for the Typhoon: Climate Change and Sovereign Risk
in Southeast Asia, March 2021
-
Demographic Transition for Economic Development in
Taipei,China: Literature and Policy Implications, March 2021
-
Why Are Latin American Crises Deeper Than Those in Emerging
Asia, Including That of COVID-19? March 2021
-
Demographic Transition and its Impacts on Fiscal
Sustainability in East and Southeast Asia, March 2021
-
Macroeconomic Policy Adjustments due to COVID-19: Scenarios
to 2025 with a Focus on Asia, March 2021
-
Industry Fragmentation and Wastewater Efficiency: A Case
Study of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, February 2021
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ADB |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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How COVID-19 Is Changing the World: A Statistical
Perspective Volume 3, Published 2021
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Asia Bond Monitor, March 2021
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Assam as India’s Gateway to ASEAN, March 2021
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Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Leaving No Country
Behind, March 2021
-
Mapping the Spatial Distribution of Poverty Using Satellite
Imagery in the Philippines, March 2021
-
Using Technology to Improve Civil Service Talent, March 2021
-
ADB Support for School Education (K–12) in Asia and the
Pacific, March 2021
-
Supporting Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery in Southeast
Asia, March 2021
-
Harnessing the Potential of Big Data in Post-Pandemic
Southeast Asia, March 2021
-
Implementing a Green Recovery in Southeast Asia, March 2021
-
Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilization in Southeast
Asia, March 2021
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ADB |
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Asian Development Review, Vol.
38,
No. 1, 2021 (Full
Report):
This edition features studies on seasonal labor mobility in the
Pacific as well as development issues relating to population
aging, education, and the labor market in Asia.
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ADB |
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March, 2021 |
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Japan Can
Remain an Important U.S. Ally Despite Demographic Challenges,
February 2021.
The world is aging. Some countries are not only aging, but their
populations are shrinking as immigration fails to make up for
rapidly falling birth rates. Many U.S. allies and security
partners are among those beset by these trends. This raises
questions about how decreasing fertility and increasing life
expectancies will shape the future world order, and specifically
the sustainability of U.S. alliances such as with Japan, whose
aging and population decline will make it more difficult for the
Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to compete for the best
Japanese talent as the Japanese labor pool shrinks ever smaller,
and Japanese tax dollars with which to hire military personnel
grow ever scarcer. Unless SDF recruitment trends change
dramatically, Japan's ability to participate in both
technology-intensive and manpower-heavy alliance missions will
decline over time... |
|
EWC |
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The United
States and Japan Should Cooperate to Include India in
Indo-Pacific Economic Governance, February 2021.
Both the United States and Japan consider India as an important
strategic partner in their respective Indo-Pacific concepts.
However, India still faces many domestic challenges as a
developing country. India also has traditionally been reluctant
when it comes to trade liberalization. U.S. bilateral trade
negotiations with India, and Japan`s effort in promoting an East
Asia regional trade agreement that includes India share
objectives and interests and hence can be coordinated. On
November 15, 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) was signed by 15 countries with the glaring
exception of India. RCEP is a regional free trade agreement (FTA)
whose negotiations were initiated by ASEAN and six partner
countries, namely Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New
Zealand and India in 2012. The signing of RCEP finally came
after eight years of negotiations, but India decided to pull out
from the pact at the final stage of negotiations... |
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EWC |
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Increasing
Support for U.S.-Japan Alliance in Okinawa is Not a Pipedream,
February 2021.
The ongoing political impasse between Japan’s central government
in Tokyo and the Okinawa prefectural government over U.S.
military basing threatens the long-term stability of the
U.S.-Japan Alliance. In spite of the friction between the
central government and the prefecture, and the much decried
“burden” of U.S. bases on Okinawa there is relatively little
deep-seeded resentment among the Okinawan people toward the U.S.
military presence or the U.S.-Japan Alliance as a whole,
especially among those born after the reversion of Okinawa to
Japanese sovereignty in 1972. Surveys also show that Okinawans
desire more dialogue with U.S. service members based in Okinawa.
But a fraught Okinawan history with mainland Japan and economic
marginalization have so far undermined the strong potential for
good-faith dialogue that could break the impasse... |
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EWC |
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A U.S.-Japan
Dual-Citizen Arrangement Can Benefit Both Countries, February
2021.
Although Japan does not recognize dual citizenship, the United
States and Japan would both benefit from such an arrangement. A
combination of on-the-ground realities of dual citizens in
Japan, the emerging needs and capabilities of the Japanese state
(namely digitalization of public services and taxation), and the
interests of U.S.-based corporations operating in Japan should
inspire the United States to encourage dual citizenship
initiatives by the Japanese government. The driving forces of
globalization and the benefits of exploring new avenues of
U.S.-Japan relations combine with domestic developments in Japan
to make dual citizenship a “common sense” goal for both
countries, at both the institutional and person-to-person level
of international diplomacy and mutual understanding... |
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EWC |
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Biden Must
Assist Japan and South Korea with the History Issue, February
2021.
he Biden administration's focus on allies and partners and the
inability of democratic U.S. allies Japan and South Korea to
move beyond historical pitfalls of apologies and treaties
provides President Biden's team the perfect opportunity to show
leadership by taking on a mediator role. By taking an active
role, the United States can demonstrate that it is not a passive
observer to would-be revisionists in the region, shore up its
alliances, and signal to the world that the United States is
still the leader in the promotion of human rights. Japan's
colonization of Korea from 1910 to 1945 was brutal. The Japanese
military coerced between 10,000 and 200,000 women into sexual
slavery and many more Koreans were forced to work in the
Japanese war machine, the very one that annexed Korea in 1910... |
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EWC |
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Partisan
Biases in U.S.-Japan Relations, February 2021.
Japan will welcome the Biden administration with relief in the
wake of what was perceived as Trump's bombast, threats, and
unpredictability – but it will be mixed with apprehension (fair
or not) that Biden's presidency will follow the Obama
administration's perceived weakness, or even accommodation,
toward China. It's a crude simplification, but Japan's ruling
Liberal Democratic Party's relationship with U.S. political
parties is roughly that they share preferences but not
perceptions with Democrats, and share perceptions but not
preferences with Republicans. In practical terms, this means
that Japanese decision makers favor alliances and multilateral
approaches over unilateralism and brinksmanship, but are more
suspicious of China's intentions and behavior than they believe
Democrats to be. Put more indelicately, the LDP prefers working
with Republicans rather than Democrats... |
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EWC |
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Leaping Across the Ocean: The Port Operators Behind China's Naval
Expansion, February 2021.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has become increasingly willing to
project military power overseas while coercing and co-opting countries
into accepting the objectives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Beijing’s greater willingness to flex its muscles, both politically and
militarily, is supported by its overseas investments in critical
infrastructure, which provide the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with
the logistical enablers needed to project military power beyond the
‘first island chain’ in the Western Pacific. ‘Controlling the seas in
the region, leaping across the ocean for force projection’ (区域控海，跨洋投送)
is the term Chinese naval commentators use when referring to the PLA
Navy’s bid to project power across the world. Australia should build its
research and analytical capacity to better understand the nexus between
the CCP and SOEs. That due diligence, building on open-source research
conducted for this report, will better illuminate the PRC’s global
expansion, potential grey-zone operations and the companies and
individuals involved. |
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ASPI |
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Eyes on the Prize: Australia, China, and the Antarctic Treaty System,
February 2021. The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) provides
Australia with a peaceful, non-militarised south; a freeze on challenges
to our territorial claim; a ban on mining and an ecosystem-based
management of fisheries. But China wants to benefit economically, and
potentially militarily, from Antarctica. It is increasingly assertive in
the ATS, primarily over fisheries access, and active on the ice.
Australia should front load its support for the ATS, increasing both the
substance and profile of our Antarctic activities. We should emphasise
ATS ideals rather than our claim to Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT).
We should work hard internationally to dispel the myth that Antarctica’s
resource wealth will be unlocked in 2048 on review of the Madrid
Protocol. Inside the ATS, we should play to our strengths in
multilateral diplomacy. Canberra should monitor Chinese activities in
Antarctica and the ATS and step up its maritime awareness of the
Southern Ocean, but refrain from geostrategic panic... |
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Lowy |
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The Next Generation Problem: The Ups and Downs of Sweden’s
Huawei Ban, February 2021.
After months of pending legal challenges, Sweden proceeded
with the long-delayed 5G-frequency auctions in January this
year, finally allowing Swedish telecom providers to continue
the 5G-rollout; however, still without partnerships with
Chinese 5G-equipment provider Huawei Technologies, which
remains banned from Swedish networks on national security
grounds. The ban was upheld in court on February 09 and has
now put Stockholm on an open collision course with Beijing,
which has threatened retaliation against Swedish businesses
in China. In completely excluding Huawei, Sweden has,
atypically, joined ranks with the U.S., the UK, Japan, New
Zealand, and Australia, willingly or not getting pulled into
the fray of the Sino-American rivalry... |
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ISDP |
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Education and Development in North Korea: The Push for a
“Science-Based Economy” Under Kim Jong Un, February 2021.
This Issue Brief analyzes the development of education in
North Korea with particular focus on the Kim Jong Un era and
the recent government’s emphasis on scientific development.
Once considered the flagship of the regime’s welfare system,
education has shown signs of inadequacy before the mid-1990s
crisis. Under the Kim Jong Un rule, the DPRK extended its
schooling system to 12 years, pushing for faster and broader
developments in ICT and STEM. However, the reform has not
solved the problems left by the collapse of socio-economic
structures in the 1990s. Private education has risen in
parallel with grassroots marketization; the distance between
Pyongyang and the provinces has widened, and the government
may be unable to deliver on its promises of a prosperous
future powered by technological advancements. |
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ISDP |
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The BRI vs FOIP: Japan’s Countering of China’s Global
Ambitions, February 2021.
With the Donald Trump administrated U.S. turning inwards,
the world saw Japan taking a step forward on the global
stage during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s tenure. Not only
did the Abe administration take a more international stance,
but it also took measures to counter China’s Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI). What then, is Japan doing to counter
China’s globally expanding power, and is it enough to
compete with the world’s second-largest economy? This
article attempts to answer these questions by mapping out
Japan’s counterstrategy vis-à-vis China’s BRI, while
excluding military cooperation aspects such as the “Quad”. |
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ISDP |
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Latest ADB Publications:
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Bond Market Guide for Mongolia, February 2021
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Getting Ready for the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout, February
2021
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The Female Secondary Stipend and Assistance Program in
Bangladesh: What Did It Accomplish? February 2021
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Different Approaches to Learning Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics: Case Studies from Thailand,
The Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Finland, February 2021
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Primer on Social Bonds and Recent Developments in Asia,
February 2021
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Asian Economic Integration Report 2021: Making Digital
Platforms Work for Asia and the Pacific, February 2021
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Impact of COVID-19 on CAREC Aviation and Tourism, February
2021
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Latest APEC publications:
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Philippine Institute for Development Studies -
Development Research News:
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Philippine Institute for Development Studies -
Research Paper Series:
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