www.asia-studies.com

   home search about subscribe contact  

 

 

 

 

  

Home

  

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Asia-Studies Full-Text Online

The Most Comprehensive and Authoritative Source of
Asia-Pacific Information
 
 

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.

  
  more . . .  
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

Library Journal eReview rates Asia-Studies Full-Text 10/10 on content and 9/10 overall.

  
 

* Library Journal is a trademark of Media Source

    
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

We index full-text journals with open access platforms in our NEW Asia-Studies Full-Text Plus section. Here is the list of journals available.

  
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

 

  
 

June, 2018 Current Topics

  

Source

 

 

  

 

Instability in the Pacific Islands: A Status Report, June 2018. The Pacific Islands are highly diverse in political status, population, development, migration prospects, and potential for instability. Resilience is most under challenge in western Melanesia: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu are states-in-formation characterised by extraordinary linguistic and group diversity giving rise to weak consciousness of nationhood. Fiji is different: a weak democracy but a strong state. Many observers see increasing tensions, disputes, and violence over land in Pacific urban areas as people’s traditional connections with rural villages diminish and landlessness becomes more common...

  

Lowy

Trump, Kim and the North Korean Nuclear Missile Melodrama, May 2018. As the leaders of the United States and North Korea prepare to meet for the first time, the North Korean nuclear issue sits delicately poised between crisis and breakthrough. Under the Trump presidency, North Korea’s scripted brand of hyperbole and brinksmanship is encountering the political theatre of President Donald Trump. Any US president confronted by a direct threat from North Korean nuclear missiles would treat it as a first-order security challenge. Yet Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, and showmanship, have also elevated North Korea’s regional melodrama in ways that potentially advantage Kim Jong-un. Even if it fails to yield any tangible outcomes, meeting a serving US president would still be hugely beneficial to Pyongyang as a means of strengthening Kim’s domestic and international position, particularly in respect of its chronic legitimacy deficit in the inter-Korean comparison...

  

Lowy

India's Role is Key for Including Central Asia in Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, May 2018. Central Asia has become an increasingly important region for the international community including Japan. Tokyo initially pursued bilateral relationships with each of Central Asian country through its “Silk Road Diplomacy” in the late 1990s, but started to strengthen the relationships by initiating the multilateral “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue in 2004. Since then, Japan has strived to become a “catalyst” for regional cooperation that would enable the Central Asian countries to achieve “open, stable and autonomous development.” A more developed and secure Central Asia is also expected to provide Tokyo with a reliable alternative source of energy supply such as oil, natural gas and rare earth metals including uranium...

  

EWC

Making Sense of the Indo-Pacific Strategy: An Inheritance from the Past, May 2018. The term “Indo-Pacific” has gained wider currency as the Trump administration promotes the Indo-Pacific Strategy as its flagship policy towards the region. Since the substance of this strategy has yet to be made clear, one could easily make speculations that the Indo-Pacific Strategy is a “containment policy” towards China given the emphasis the new National Defense Strategy has given to great power competition...

  

EWC

The 32nd ASEAN Summit’s Economic Priorities and Implications for US-ASEAN Economic Relations, May 2018. The leaders of the ten member countries of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered at the 32nd ASEAN Summit in Singapore from April 25th - 28th, 2018 under the theme of “Building a Resilient and Innovative ASEAN.” Among the economic cooperation priorities agreed to were the continued advancement of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), pursuit of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and establishment of an ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN)...

  

EWC

The Next Big Grey Thing - Choosing Australia's Future Frigate, May 2018. The SEA 5000 Future Frigate program has three separate broad objectives. The first is to replace the Anzac-class frigates from the mid-2020s, providing the RAN with a new class of warship with the desired capabilities. The second is industrial: faced with a steady loss of shipyard jobs over the past few years, the Australian Government wants work at the ASC Shipyard in South Australia to begin early in the 2020s. The third objective is to set up a continuous shipbuilding program that will continue to deliver locally built vessels in perpetuity, with an eye to being able to export systems, components or perhaps even warships in the future...

  

ASPI

Territorial Complementarities and Competition for Oil and Gas FDI in the SIJORI Growth Triangle, May 2018. After the initial euphoria, the SIJORI Triangle - formed by Singapore, Johor (Malaysia) and Riau Islands (Indonesia) - seems to have been completely forgotten. The growth triangle concept was initiated to enhance foreign investment. This paper aims to explore whether firms in the oil and gas industry are really strategically making use of the different factor endowments accessible in close spatial proximity. Based on FDI data and expert interviews, Singaporean firms are taking strategic advantage of the different factor endowments, especially in storage and offshore equipment manufacturing. However, Johor and Riau Islands still focus on lower value-added activities...

  

ISEAS
Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:  

ADB
Latest ADB Economics Working Papers:  

ADB
Other ADB Publications:  

ADB

Latest APEC publications:

  

APEC

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

May, 2018

  

 

 

 

  

 

Shifts in ROK Approaches to the DPRK Under President Moon, May 2018. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has just completed his first year in office and what an eventful year it has been. Over the past twelve months, the world witnessed a sharp escalation of tensions between the two Koreas which saw the peninsula reach the brink of war, and then just as rapidly, these tensions de-escalated, ushering in a mood of inter-Korean reconciliation. What explains this stunning turnaround? Did President Moon’s North Korea policy differ drastically that of his predecessor, Park Geun-hye? In this paper I find that, surprisingly, Moon’s DPRK policy has been marked more by continuity than change from Park’s—particularly in the realm of defence. The main element of change has occurred on the diplomatic engagement front, which has facilitated the remarkable inter-Korean rapprochement...

  

ASPI

Women, Peace and Security: Addressing the Gaps and Strengthening Implementation, May 2018. This Strategic Insights paper compiles the articles in that series across four themes: Defence’s approach to WPS, the role of parliament and civil society, lessons from abroad, and evolving approaches to WPS. Drawing on the analyses of contributors from a variety of backgrounds including government, politics, defence, academia, and civil society, the series demonstrates that issues related to women’s participation and leadership, and the inclusion of different gender perspectives, are integral to Australia’s national security...

  

ASPI

Putin and North Korea: Exploring Russian Interests Around the Peninsula, May 2018. ASPI Researcher, Jacqueline Westermann, argues that it would be fatal to underestimate the Kremlin’s interests in the region, as ‘Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a stakeholder in the region, a partner to Pyongyang and a party to the previous Six-Party Talks’. While it isn’t a top priority for the Kremlin, Russian involvement could play a handy part in Putin’s greater strategy to expand Russia’s engagement in the world. To illustrate Moscow’s specific motivations for being involved, the analysis is based on statements given by Russian government officials during 2017, as well as insights from Russian North Korea experts...

  

ASPI

Hong Kong: High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecasts Current Quarter Model: 2018Q2, April 2018. According to its High Frequency Macroeconomic Forecast, real GDP is estimated to grow by 3.5% in 18Q1, upward revised by 0.5 percentage point comparing to our previous forecast, reflecting strong domestic demand, slightly faster than the 3.4% growth in 17Q4. In 18Q2, real GDP growth is expected to moderate to 3.3% when compared with the same period last year. Comparing to the 3.8% growth in 2017 as a whole, we expect Hong Kong’s GDP will grow but at a slower pace at 3.4% in 2018.

  

HKU

Religion and the Secular State in Kazakhstan, April 2018. At independence, Kazakhstan shared with the successor states to the Soviet Union the challenge of replacing Soviet atheism with new state approaches to religion. Like the rest of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan adopted a secular form of government. This makes the region stand out in the Muslim world, and is a source of pride for regional governments. Secular government should be a point of agreement between the region’s states and Europe and the United States. But instead, it has become a source of controversy, as Western states and organizations frequently criticize state policies in the religious sphere...

  

ISDP

The Economic Modernization of Uzbekistan, April 2018. When Shavkat Mirziyoyev succeeded Islam Karimov as President of Uzbekistan, many observers expected his tenure to represent continuity rather than change. And while continuity is present in terms of the focus on independence and sovereignty of Uzbekistan, Mirziyoyev also showed a pro-active desire to improve foreign relations and initiate major economic reforms, designed to strengthen the strategic position of Uzbekistan...

  

ISDP
Monetary Authority of Singapore: Macroeconomic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 1, April 2018 (Full Report, Presentation Slides for Briefing):  

MAS

North Korea and the ANZUS Treaty, April 2018. The Security Treaty between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America, universally known as the ANZUS Treaty, was signed in September 1951 and came into force in April 1952. This Strategic Insight traces the origins of the treaty, examines its substantive content, and considers whether and how it might apply in the event of a conflict between the US and North Korea...

  

ASPI

The French Pacific Territories and Free Trade, April 2018. Jeremy Ellero, Research Associate at the Law and Economics Research Laboratory at the University of New Caledonia, explains that “Massive financial transfers combined with tariffs and quotas on imported goods have created overprotected economies whose purchasing power is unrelated to actual economic power.”

  

EWC

The United States and Fiji Should Bolster Security Cooperation, April 2018. Ambassador C. Steven McGann (Ret), former US Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu, explains that “This well-documented commitment to the Pacific should be the context in which the United States frames its regional coordination and stronger ties with Fiji.”

  

EWC

Customary Land Rights and Pacific Islands Security & Stability, April 2018.  Dr. Iati Iati, Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago, New Zealand explains that “Reforms, particularly those which involve or even intimate alienation of customary lands, have been very unpopular in the Pacific.”

  

EWC

Services Liberalization and Export Quality: Evidence from China, March 2018. Using firm-level export data from China, this paper empirically examines the effect of domestic liberalization of services on exporting firms’ quality upgrading. We examine a number of other trade policies, including: tariffs in export destination countries; and input- and output-tariffs in China. Following China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in December 2001, these trade policies changed substantially during our sample period of 2000 - 2006. Our findings suggest that, of all the policies, reduced input tariffs contributed the most to raising export product quality. Easing of services’ restrictiveness also resulted in improved export product quality, but mainly for foreign owned enterprises.

  

ISEAS

Asian Development Outlook 2018: How Technology Affects Jobs. (Full Report and Highlights). Developing Asia is forecast to expand by 6.0% in 2018, and by 5.9% in 2019. Excluding Asia’s high-income newly industrialized economies, growth should reach 6.5% in 2018 and 6.4% in 2019. With oil prices edging up and robust consumer demand continuing, inflation is poised to pick up after dipping slightly last year. Consumer prices are projected to rise by 2.9% in both 2018 and 2019, or 0.6 percentage points more than in 2017. Though prospects are firm, risks are clearly to the downside. Protectionist measures and retaliation against them could undermine the recent pickup in trade growth. In response to fiscal stimulus, the United States Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates faster than currently expected, which could diminish capital flows to developing Asia...

  

ADB

Asian Development Review, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2018 (Full Report). The latest Asian Development Review contains a mini symposium on India’s foreign direct investment (FDI), and open submissions. The mini symposium analyzes the links between FDI and technology sourcing, export intensity, employment, environment, and financing. The other papers are on industrial restructuring, education spending, urbanization, and fiscal risks.

   ADB
Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:  

ADB
Latest ADB Economics Working Papers:  

ADB
Other ADB Publications:  

ADB

Latest APEC publications:

  

APEC

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

April, 2018

  

 

 

 

  

 

Trends in Southeast Asia 2018 #10: GE14: Will Urban Malays Support Pakatan Harapan?. In Malaysia’s last general election, urban voters tended to support the opposition coalition — 72 of the 97 urban parliamentary seats were in fact won by it. However, most of these seats have a mixed demography, with a high percentage of ethnic Chinese voters. In the upcoming general election, Pakatan has a good chance of winning the federal government if Malay voters join their Chinese counterparts in supporting the opposition coalition. A subsequent so-called “Malay tsunami” could lead to a Pakatan victory...

  

ISEAS

Trends in Southeast Asia 2018 #9: Malaysia’s General Elections 2018: Understanding the Rural Vote. This study was carried out in Johor and Kedah through a combination of focus groups, formal and informal interviews and long-term ethnographic participant observation. Johor was selected for this study because it is the birthplace and long-time bastion of UMNO while Kedah was of interest because of the Mahathir family legacy in the state. The study shows that the rural vote is not homogeneous; views and perceptions that could lead to electoral action differs between regions, ages and genders. Daily survival and rising costs of living are the key common issues that were raised across all regions. The importance of Malay rights and the priority of Islam are also important to the rural voter...

  

ISEAS

Trends in Southeast Asia 2018 #8: The Rise and Decline of Labour Militancy in Batam. Over the past two decades, trade union activity in Batam has been heavily influenced by regional demographics, employment conditions and the prevalent political scenario. Following the end of the New Order in 1998, the single state-authorized union was fragmented, giving rise to a number of new enterprise unions. Batam’s young and diverse immigrant population, with no pre-existing loyalties to particular trade unions, made it a hotspot for industrial relations activities. Low and stagnant workers’ wages throughout Indonesia and outbreak of social unrest resulted in the formation of three strong national-level unions: FSPMI, KSPSI and the KSBSI. By the mid-2000s, these unions were also active in Batam...

  

ISEAS

Trends in Southeast Asia 2018 #7: Chinese Capitalism and Economic Integration in Southeast Asia. China’s rise exerts a powerful pull on ASEAN economies and constitutes an impetus for a resinicization of Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. China has become a skilled practitioner of “commercial diplomacy”, and as long as it continues to lead the way in regional integration, China’s state-led capitalism will seek to integrate itself into the ASEAN Economic Community. This in effect becomes China’s essential strategy of desecuritization for the region. With increasing trade and investment between China and ASEAN countries, the ethnic Chinese economic elites have managed to serve as “connectors and bridges” between the two sides, and benefited in the process from joint ventures and business investments. The impact of new Chinese Capitalism on SMEs, however, has not been equally positive...

  

ISEAS

MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters, March 2018. The Singapore economy expanded by 3.6% in Q4 2017 compared with the same period last year. This was higher than the median forecast of 2.6% reported in the Dec 2017 Survey. The economy is forecast to grow by 3.2% in 2018. The respondents expect the GDP growth to come in at 3.2% in 2018, an upgrade from the 3.0% median forecast in the previous survey...

  

MAS

Stronger Together: Safeguarding Australia’s Security Interests Through Closer Pacific Ties, April 2018. Australia views stability in the Pacific Islands region as a critical aspect of its own national security. The 2016 Defence White Paper and 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper each place significant importance on the region. Both white papers also hint at increasing geostrategic competition in the region and a general sense of unease with growing Chinese influence in the Pacific. Yet why the Pacific Islands region is so important to Australia, and the extent to which China may be challenging Australia’s influence with its neighbours, is often poorly articulated...

  

Lowy

Charities and Terrorism: Lessons from the Syrian Crisis, March 2018. Humanitarian disasters offer opportunities for terrorist groups to infiltrate conflict areas under the guise of providing humanitarian assistance, and to raise or send funds to these areas under the same cover. In the case of Australia, terrorists and their supporters have at times sought to portray themselves as humanitarian workers in order to construct a legal defence. While most humanitarian groups operating in Syria have legitimate aims, the civil war and rise of radical Islamist groups that resulted has shown how easily the desire to assist those in need can be manipulated by jihadists. In order to minimise the likelihood of this sector being exploited in the future, countries such as Australia should utilise regulatory and legislative frameworks to limit the ability of individuals and groups to exploit humanitarian assistance in high-risk areas.

  

Lowy

Australia-Fiji Relations in 2018: Finding a New Normal, March 2018. Richard Herr, Academic Coordinator for the Parliamentary Law, University of Tasmania, explains that “Australia knows that Fiji sees China as providing an economic, diplomatic and aid alternative to traditional friends that was not available in previous decades.”

  

EWC

Japan’s Oceania Engagement and Maritime Security, March 2018. Dr. Rieko Hayakawa, founder of the Sasakawa Pacific Islands Fund, explains that “The United States Pacific Command (PACOM) and United States Coast Guard (USCG) have welcomed Japan’s NGO initiatives for the maritime security of the western Pacific.”

  

EWC

The Role of the French Military on Key Issues for Oceania, March 2018. Helene Goiran, member of the Maison de la Melanesie research group, explains that “France has the second largest EEZ in the world located mainly in the Pacific, and is responsible for protecting the fragile maritime environment and its extensive fishing, mineral, and energy resources.”

  

EWC

Mariana Islands – US Military Strategy ‘On Hold’, March 2018. Grant Newsham, Senior Research Fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, explains that “CNMI and Guam, both American territories, are strategically important given their locations in the Western Pacific close to Asia.”

  

EWC

The United States is Losing the Pacific, March 2018. Ben Bohane, Founder and Director of Wakaphotos, explains that “The United States is building nothing, offering nothing and, until recently, even failing to pay its due Compact funds to Micronesian allies.”

  

EWC

Strategic Overview of Oceania, March 2018. Cleo Paskal, Associate Fellow, Chatham House and Director, The Oceania Research Project, explains that “In the past decade Indonesia, Japan, India, and especially France (which has territories in Oceania) have all deepened engagement with Pacific Island Countries.”

  

EWC

Women's Economic Empowerment and the G20 Agenda, February 2018. In not a single country has gender equality yet been achieved in practice. Worse still, in 9 out of 10 countries laws discriminate against women's ability to be economically active. This despite all 193 UN member countries formally committing in 2015 to promote gender equality and empower women and girls. At current rates of progress, it will take another 217 years to reach economic parity. Yet the case for economic parity is compelling...

  

EWC

Putting Women's Economic Empowerment in the Asia Pacific at the Core of the G20, January 2018. This paper presents background and resource information used to develop the formal report for the Inaugural 2017 Women20 for the G20 Asia-Pacific Dialogue, hosted by the East-West Center and sponsored by the global professional services organization EY. Participants included current and former heads of state, government officials, academic experts, representatives of regional and international organizations, business, and civil society leaders.

  

EWC

US International Economic Policy in the Trump Administration, January 2018. The United States benefits from international trade, and Asia and the United States have a mutually beneficial and deepening economic relationship. A byproduct of that deepening economic integration, however, is a tendency toward increased income and wealth inequality within the United States. The appropriate response is not to adopt trade protection but rather implement a package of improved adjustment measures and longer-term policies to enhance US competitiveness...

  

EWC

The Internet of Insecure Things, Published 2018. The IoT (Internet of Things) offers benefits to all industries, but the connectivity of these once isolated things also introduces new vulnerabilities that can affect our homes and industries. As well as promising convenience and efficiency, the IoT is a problem because a vast number of internet connected devices with poor default security create a large attack surface that bad actors could take advantage of for malicious ends. A variety of international organisations and government groups are working on issues pertaining to the IoT, but at present there’s no coordinated vision to implement standards for the IoT on a global scale...

  

ASPI

Trends in Southeast Asia 2018 #6: Reconciling Economic and Environmental Imperatives in Batam. Batam’s economic transformation has been accompanied by a marked degradation of its natural environment. Enforcement to protect the environment has often been inadequate on many fronts, exacerbated by population increases. Though regulations exist for the provision of public amenities like wastewater and sewerage treatment, existing facilities are run-down and ill-equipped to cope with the present demands. The capacity of reservoirs to meet the present demand for water is also strained because of the large population base, with illegal intrusion and squatters further threatening supplies. Economic and environmental imperatives can be reconciled if more emphasis and resources are put into enforcing regulations and protecting the environment.

  

ISEAS

Mine Closure: Checklist for Governments, February 2018. The objective of the Mine Closure Checklist for Governments is to provide policy makers in the APEC region with the essential elements of a successful mine closure governance framework based on leading international guidelines and standards, as well as international experience. This Checklist is designed to provide a logical, sequential series of steps that will allow policy makers to identify gaps in their current mine closure framework and identify how to address those gaps. A clear, effective mine closure framework will help protect the environment and interests of the community, and will also encourage the benefits that are brought by investment and development of mining opportunities.

  

APEC

Asia Bond Monitor, March 2018.Risks to economic growth and stability of East Asia remain—faster-than-expected rate hikes in the United States and monetary policy normalization in other advanced economies; and growing threats of protectionism. The continued recovery in the global economy has contributed to a rally in financial markets that lasted through January. Financial risk and volatility indicators—such as the CBOE Volatility Index, credit default swap spreads, and emerging market bond spreads—narrowed in January. However, a price correction in equity markets and an uptick in risk indicators were observed in the first week of February due to uncertainties in US macroeconomic policies and expectations of accelerated rate hikes by the Federal Reserve...

  

ADB

Slowdown in the People’s Republic of China: Structural Factors and the Implications for Asia, Published 2018. This book analyzes the causes of the recent slowdown in the PRC and assesses the growth potential of the PRC economy, the conditions under which that potential growth could be realized, and the implications for other Asian economies. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been growing at an unprecedented rate since economic reforms were initiated in 1978, achieving an average annual real GDP growth rate of 9.7% over the entire period through 2015. As a consequence, the PRC has achieved a remarkably successful transition from one of the poorest countries to upper middle-income status in just over one generation...

  

ADB

The Implications of Ultra-Low and Negative Interest Rates for Asia, Published 2018. Asia has been uniquely affected by low and negative global interest rates. This volume explores these effects--from foreign direct investment and portfolio investment, to exchange rate effects, credit availability, and more. Twenty years after the East Asian financial crisis, Asia is facing challenges as advanced economies implement unprecedented low and negative interest rate policies to jumpstart moribund economies and avoid deflation. As the longer ends of yield curves in many advanced economies plunge into negative territory, fears are growing that these policies may create unintended side effects, including cash hoarding, housing bubbles, and damage to banks’ balance sheets...

  

ADB

Improving Labour Market Outcomes in the Pacific: Policy Challenges and Priorities, Published 2017. Underemployment, informal work, gender disparities, and a large share of young people not in education, employment, or training characterize labour markets in the Pacific island countries. Size and remoteness of Pacific Island countries have hindered economic growth and limited positive labour market outcomes. A very young and growing population is both an opportunity and a concern: Pacific Island countries stand to benefit from a demographic dividend, but labour markets are simply not producing enough jobs to accommodate all the young women and men entering the workforce each year...

  

ADB
Latest ADB Working Paper Series:  

ADB
Latest ADBI Working Paper Series:  

ADB

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 
 
 

  

 
 

View Previous Highlights