The economic corridor approach was adopted by the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries in 1998 to help accelerate subregional development. The development of economic corridors links production, trade, and infrastructure within a specific geographic area. The review of these corridors was conducted to take into account the opening up of Myanmar and ensure that there is a close match between corridor routes and trade flows; GMS capitals and major urban centers are connected to each other; and the corridors are linked with maritime gateways. The review came up with recommendations for possible extension and/or realignment of the corridors, and adoption of a classification system for corridor development. The GMS Ministers endorsed the recommendations of the study at the 21st GMS Ministerial Conference in Thailand in 2016.
The Mekong River is a vital and valuable resource, with huge development potential for the six states through which it flows. Given the significant asymmetry of power between those states, however, there is a real risk that some might utilise it to the detriment of others. Without a sense of regional belonging, it is difficult to imagine that these states and their constituent communities will take regional imperatives to heart, participate in joint regulatory frameworks, or adopt behaviours for upstream-downstream and lateral cooperation over the appropriation and use of their shared resources. How effectively has closer interdependence of the Mekong countries accommodated the development of a political-social-cultural space conducive to the growth of a regional "we-ness" among not only political elites, but also the general public? The contributors to this volume approach this question from a range of directions, including the impacts of tourism, regional development programmes, the Mekong Power Grid, and Sino-US rivalry. This edited volume presents valuable insights for scholars of international relations, Asian studies, development studies, environment studies, policy studies, and human geography.
Transnational economic integration has been described by globalization boosters as a rising tide that will lift all boats, an opportunity for all participants to achieve greater prosperity through a combination of political cooperation and capitalist economic competition. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has championed such rhetoric in promoting the integration of China, Southeast Asia’s formerly socialist states, and Thailand into a regional project called the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). But while the GMS project is in fact hastening regional economic integration, Jim Glassman shows that the approach belies the ADB’s idealized description of "win-win" outcomes. The process of "actually existing globalization" in the GMS does provide varied opportunities for different actors, but it is less a rising tide that lifts all boats than an uneven flood of transnational capitalist development whose outcomes are determined by intense class struggles, market competition, and regulatory battles. Glassman makes the case for adopting a class-based approach to analysis of GMS development, regionalization, and actually existing globalization. First he analyzes the interests and actions of various Thai participants in GMS development, then the roles of different Chinese actors in GMS integration. He next provides two cases illustrating the serious limits of any notion that GMS integration is a relatively egalitarian process—Laos’ participation in GMS development and the role of migrant Burmese workers in the production of the GMS. He finds that Burmese migrant workers, dam-displaced Chinese and Laotian villagers, and economically-stressed Thai farmers and small businesses are relative "losers" compared to the powerful business interests that shape GMS integration from locations like Bangkok and Kunming, as well as key sites outside the GMS like Beijing, Singapore, and Tokyo. The final chapter blends geographical-historical analysis with an assessment of uneven development and actually existing globalization in the GMS. Cogent and persuasive, Bounding the Mekong will attract attention from the growing number of scholars analyzing globalization, neoliberalism, regionalization, and multiple scales of governance. It is suitable for graduate courses in geography, political science, and sociology as well as courses with a regional focus.
This book is an edited volume about China-ASEAN relations with contributions from experts based in China and Singapore. The book includes a few excellent papers that were presented at a conference the editor organized in October 2009 and also two other research papers. They examine China-ASEAN relations from a sub-regional cooperation perspective. The book discusses and analyzes China-ASEAN cooperation in the Greater Mekong River Sub-region (GMS), the emerging Pan-Beibu economic zone, ASEAN's growth triangles, and the hydraulic power sector, as well as China-ASEAN economic relations in the wake of the financial crisis. They carefully review the progresses that have been achieved, examine new policy proposals that have been put forth, and explore problems that exist in all these sub-regional cooperation schemes between China and ASEAN.
Big data is already being used to measure, monitor, and manage tourism development, but its potential remains to be fully exploited. This report discusses the trends, opportunities, and challenges in using big data and digitalization in the tourism sector. It highlights how big data is being leveraged for COVID-19 recovery and examines its relationship with statistical frameworks to better measure the economic, social, and environmental impact of tourism. Case studies of partnerships in Asia and the Pacific between the public and private sector demonstrate ways to tap big data.
MGCI was launched on 10th November 2000 in Vientiane (Laos) and aims at rekindling the cultural links between India and the five riparian states of the Mekong River, namely, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. It is from here that India seeks to strengthen connectivity through building the physical and social infrastructure in these countries. This includes roads, rails, air links and information and communication technologies as also education, culture, and imparting skills in development management and other technical areas.
The Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) aims to strengthen regional cooperation and integration in critical areas. GMS-2030 builds upon recognized strengths with a project-led approach that will benefit the community, support connectivity, and improve competitiveness. It also emphasizes the challenges of the coronavirus disease and aims to ensure that government strategies are conducive to a robust recovery in the medium term and beyond. Based on decades of success and program experience, GMS-2030 provides continuity, but will be updated, as necessary, to reflect evolving global or regional forces that may impinge on GMS development prospects.
The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program will begin its third decade in 2012. Since its inception, the program has achieved noteworthy successes in fostering cooperation in a region that, at the commencement of the program, was emerging from a period of prolonged conflict. The program has built a reputation as a flexible, results-oriented, project-delivering vehicle for promoting regional cooperation and contributing to economic growth and poverty reduction as well as to the provision of regional public goods. Increased recognition of the benefits of regional cooperation is manifested in the evolution of regionalism both in Asia and more broadly. New institutions have emerged while others have become more vigorous. Within this context of evolving regionalism, the GMS Program remains highly relevant. The start of a new decade is an opportune time for the GMS Program to assess its achievements and develop this new strategic framework for 2012–2022. The new strategic framework builds on the substantial progress the program has made and the likely global and regional trends. It also builds on the commitment that member countries have made in their national development plans to the promotion of regional integration, and will guide the efforts of member countries to steer the program during the new decade to the next level in terms of results.
This book examines the strategic and economic logic behind the Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar (BCIM) Regional Cooperation. According to estimates, BCIM covers approximately 9 percent of the world’s mass and 40 percent of the world’s population spanning across four countries, constituting the confluence of East, Southeast and South Asia. It contributes about 13 percent to world trade but ironically only 5 percent to inter-regional trade. This volume compares the various approaches to cooperation – trade-led vs project-led, geo-political vs geo-strategic, Sino-centric vs India-led. The chapters explore the complex interplay of geo-economics and geo-politics associated with BCIM sub-regional cooperation in general, and the BCIM Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) in particular. It points to the current challenges that impede globalisation and economic growth, and critically reviews implications for the stakeholders, institutional frameworks and the spatial impact of the Corridor, especially on the underdeveloped regions. The book discusses the geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic advantages that will accrue to the member countries once the sub-regional cooperation becomes fully functional. It advocates the adoption of best practices from similar sub-regional groupings across the globe. This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, geo-politics, strategic studies, sub-regional cooperation, South Asian studies, India–China relations, foreign trade and economics, besides those dealing with foreign policy and development cooperation. It will especially benefit policymakers, development agencies and strategic think tanks.
