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.
“This book provides new insights into the important and developing agricultural value chains, including on current constraints and the enormity of opportunities, emanating in the dynamic GMS, especially through to their main giant market of China. Analysis in the GMS countries forms comparable case studies of major crops using mappings of their key processes and actors, as well as both qualitative and quantitative data, including primary data collection such as from new surveys. The analysis uses understandable methodologies, such as graphical cross-country comparisons, and established ratios, such as on comparative advantage, to provide useful insights into GMS agricultural value chains. A particular focus in the case studies is better understanding of the role Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) might play in constraining agricultural exports to China and approaches to addressing these that are more inclusive and economically rewarding. I recommend this valuable book to those interested in agricultural trade in GMS countries and China, as well as the characteristics of their agricultural value chains, and their contribution to these countries’ development.” -- Dr Ray Trewin, Former Fellow, ANU and editor of Crucial Agricultural Policy (World Scientific, 2016). “The Greater Mekong Subregion encompasses several open, dynamic, latecomer economies. Over the past thirty years, they have benefited immensely from the restoration of peace, their re-engagement with the regional and global economies, and the rise of China. The region as a whole is a net food exporter with a strong comparative advantage in agriculture. How they manage their international commercial relations, with China in particular, will significantly influence their future socio-economic dynamics. The authors and contributors, all leading researchers in the field, are to be congratulated for this timely and authoritative volume that comprehensively examines the issues and charts a productive way forward. A must-read for anybody interested in these important issues and countries.” -- Professor Hal Hill, H.W. Arndt Professor Emeritus of the Southeast Asian Economies, ANU
Across the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), there are over 500 special economic zones (SEZs) and industrial zones located near GMS economic corridors and covering over 50 million people. This proposed health impact assessment (HIA) framework recognizes these SEZs and economic corridors as economic engines of the subregion and aims to maximize benefits for all. The framework aims to provide enhanced guidance for identifying, mitigating, and managing health risks and impacts of unprecedented industrial and economic development in these SEZs, and seeks to address transboundary health issues associated with mobile and migrant worker populations. It proposes HIA as an effective SEZ management support tool to achieve optimum benefits for businesses and associated communities alike.
This study looks into the role of special economic zones in strengthening the competitiveness of economic corridors in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It examines factors behind the success of special economic zones and the role they can play in GMS economic corridor development. The analysis is based on a company-level survey in the Mae Sot special economic zone and interviews with clients operating in other zones throughout the GMS. The report offers policy recommendations for GMS ministers on how the zones can contribute toward improving competitiveness of economic corridors and thereby promote economic development.
The idea of connectivity is an integral part of regionalism in international trade and integration. The focus in this book is particularly on the so-called southern East - West Economic Corridor which consists of the connections between the southern part of Myanmar and the western part of the central region of Thailand. Between the Two Oceans of Indo-Pacific covers a diverse range of topics in the fields of geography, history, archaeology, international trade, tourism, migration and infrastructure for transport. This book is an effort to understand these for a better future for ASEAN as well as India. The findings of this book may help strengthen the ASEAN integration process on its way towards 2025.
The book begins with an overview on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting its complex character as a domestic and international development strategy, and offering an up-to-date evaluation of it. In response to this complexity, the book attempts to highlight the Belt and Road Initiative’s double character and how it will address primary domestic development challenges that the Chinese government is facing by adding an international focus to a domestic development strategy. This in turn supports the understanding of China’s political-economic policy and strategy formulation by reminding that supporting China’s domestic development is still the primary task of its government. Even as the domestic aspect of the Belt and Road Initiative is highlighted, its regional and international relevance cannot be ignored either. The Belt and Road Initiative will support a continuation of the persisting debate about the impact that China’s rise generates, and to what extent China can be characterised as a satisfied status quo power or a dissatisfied, revisionist power. In this context, the book draws attention to the various impacts that the Belt and Road Initiative generates in different regional settings. However, the book also identifies some of the limitations that China’s Belt and Road Initiative encounters, despite the seemingly convincing economic goals it offers, and explains why a few of the countries, like India, are resisting the lure.
While US-centred bilateralism and ASEAN-led multilateralism have largely dominated the post-Cold War regional security architecture in the Indo-Pacific, increasing doubts about their effectiveness have resulted in countries turning to alternative forms of cooperation, such as minilateral arrangements. Compared to multilateral groupings, minilateral platforms are smaller in size, as well as more exclusive, flexible and functional. Both China and the US have contributed to minilateral initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. In the case of the former, there is the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism—involving China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam—established in 2015. In the case of the latter, there has been a revival of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in 2017—involving the US, Australia, Japan and India. This book examines the rise of these arrangements, their challenges and opportunities, as well as their impact on the extant regional security architecture, including on the ASEAN-led multilateral order. A valuable guide for students and policy-makers looking to understand the nature and development of minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific region.
India, one of the largest importers of oil in the world, has been diversifying its energy resource options and moving towards greater energy security. This book analyses India’s potential for building energy ties in the Asia–Pacific considering the global and regional power politics. Facing China’s growing influence in Asia, India’s eastward engagement with its extended neighbours has been entrenched in its Act East Policy and institutional commitments towards Southeast Asia. This volume focuses on diverse facets of energy security beyond the traditional understanding of demand and supply and price and stability. It examines India’s energy sector, its dependence on hydrocarbons, and the push towards renewable and alternate energy resources. It further looks at the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean and South China Sea regions in geopolitical negotiations from an energy perspective and how China’s influence in the region will affect India’s moves towards greater energy cooperation with the countries of East Asia. With contributions by leading experts, the volume seeks to fill a major void in this theme and cater to the needs of a variety of audiences including academics, policymakers and experts in international relations, geopolitics and geoeconomics, and professionals in the field of energy studies.
Comprising 60.3 percent of the world’s 7.2 billion population, Asia is an enigma to many in the West. Hugely dynamic in its demographic, economic, technological and financial development, its changes are as rapid as they are diverse. The SAGE Handbook of Asian Foreign Policy provides the reader with a clear, balanced and comprehensive overview on Asia’s foreign policy and accompanying theoretical trends. Placing the diverse and dynamic substance of Asia’s international relations first, and bringing together an authoritative assembly of contributors from across the world, this is a reliable introduction to non-Western intellectual traditions in Asia. VOLUME 1: PART 1: Theories PART 2: Themes PART 3: Transnational Politics PART 4: Domestic Politics PART 5; Transnational Economics VOLUME 2: PART 6: Foreign Policies of Asian States Part 6a: East Asia Part 6b: Southeast Asia Part 6c: South & Central Asia Part 7: Offshore Actors Part 8: Bilateral Issues Part 9: Comparison of Asian Sub-Regions
This new strategy for transport development in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) consists of a strategic framework covering 2018–2030 and a set of performance indicators initially covering 2018–2022. It is mainly a strategic document providing a common framework for GMS cooperation in the transport sector. Cooperation in the transport sector has been at the core of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program since its inception in 1992. The main thrust of the program was eliminating the barriers to cooperation, and the significant lack of connectivity was a critical constraint on economic relations among the GMS countries.
