Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Richard Q Turcsanyi, Institute of Asian Studies
Ever since its inception in 2012, the Chinese-led ‘16+1 platform’ between China and 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries has attracted a considerable amount of criticism in Western Europe for allegedly undermining EU unity. Read more…
Author: Dwight H Perkins, Harvard University
The move from a centrally planned economy to a market economy is more complex than often assumed. When countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union began to transition to market economies in 1989, many economic advisors thought there was little more to it than freeing up goods and services to be sold at market-determined prices and privatising state-owned enterprises. Read more…
Authors: Priya Chacko, University of Adelaide and David Willis, Flinders University
There are many who would like to see the ‘Indo-Pacific’ concept evolve from an idea to a reality. These supporters are looking to India and Indonesia to lead the way. But this is unlikely, owing to a misalignment between the two countries’ political and economic goals. Read more…
Authors: Ian Coxhead, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Sisira Jayasuriya, Monash University
Pakistan’s recent election and warnings of an imminent payments crisis have brought the long-standing structural problems of its economy into sharp focus. Proposed solutions cover the familiar ground of new loans, new terms for existing loans, one-time sales of state assets and perhaps some increases in tariffs and excise taxes. But these measures are unlikely to provide a long-term solution. Read more…
Author: Pheakdey Heng, Enrich Institute
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Cambodia–China diplomatic ties, and the relationship between the two countries has never been closer. China is increasingly becoming Cambodia’s most important economic and diplomatic partner. In the last two years alone, Cambodia signed more than 30 bilateral agreements with China. Read more…
Authors: Kate Stevenson, Australia–Japan Research Centre and Yuji Uesugi, Waseda University
On 27 March 2018, the Japanese Defense Ministry inaugurated a new Ground Component Command (GCC) in Asaka, north of Tokyo. This has been described as one of the biggest institutional shake ups in the history of Japan’s Ground Self Defense Force (GSDF). Read more…
Author: Yuhan Zhang, Beijing
There are three major explanations for why the United States began its recent trade war with China.
The first is that the United States wants to reduce its trade deficits. US President Donald Trump tweeted on 4 April 2018 that ‘[the United States has] a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!’. Read more…
Authors: Neil Lunt, University of York and Ka Wo Fung, Hong Kong Baptist University
Dying to Survive is proving to be a 2018 hit at the box office in China. The story involves a shopkeeper smuggling a cheap generic drug into China for profit. The film — based on the true story of a Chinese leukaemia patient — is both funny and heavy on social commentary. It provides insight into the domestic health market in China, where patients are often priced out of treatments or find that treatments are unavailable. Read more…
Author: Ilhan Niaz, Quaid-i-Azam University
Since 1996, Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have delivered the stark and uncompromising message that Pakistan’s core problems are corruption and the shredding of civilian state institutions by dynastic political elites. In 2018, the PTI waged a smart, ruthless and technically sophisticated election campaign that has delivered it the prime ministership. Read more…
Author: Editorial Board, ANU
Whatever disagreements exist among observers regarding what Malaysia’s problems are and how they should be solved, two propositions command widespread consensus. The first is that Malaysia’s policy of economic preferences for the Bumiputras (an official category that encompasses the Malay Muslim majority and smaller indigenous ethnic groups) is a drag on the country’s economic competitiveness. The second is that it is politically near-impossible to unwind this elaborate system of subsidies, quotas and assorted favouritism. Read more…
Author: Donald L Horowitz, Duke University
For the first time in the history of Malaysia, the opposition has defeated a sitting government at the polls. During the long rule of the Barisan Nasional (BN), Malaysia suffered serious degradation of its legal and political institutions, and the new coalition government of the Pakatan Harapan knows that it must deal with daunting challenges of reform. Read more…
Author: Glen Finau, UNSW Canberra and Jeff Garae, Cert Vanuatu
Pacific island countries are continuously working towards strengthening legislation on cybercrime. Samoa in particular is currently working with the European Union and Australia’s Attorney General’s Office to update legislation relating to cybercrime and to enhance public awareness. New legislation aims not only at protecting government communication networks from cyberattacks but also at prosecuting private organisations and end users in Samoa who use computers and smart devices on a daily basis for malicious purposes. Read more…
Author: Prabir De, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)
On 30 August 2018, the heads of the Bay of Bengal Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries will meet in Kathmandu for the fourth BIMSTEC summit. The last BIMSTEC summit was held in 2014 and a mini-summit was held on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Goa in October 2016. Read more…
Authors: Rohan Fox, Stephen Howes and Maholopa Laveil, ANU
The first sign that Papua New Guinea (PNG) would be adopting a more protectionist trade policy came in late 2015, with the banning of a number of fresh fruit and vegetable imports from Australia. While that ban was short-lived, 2018 has seen a major reversal in PNG’s trade policy. Read more…
Author: Nian Peng, National Institute for South China Sea Studies
Since State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi assumed office in March 2016, Myanmar has attempted to consolidate its friendship with China. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government has resumed the controversial Letpadaung mining project, re-opened the China–Myanmar oil pipeline, and signed agreements on constructing a deep-water port in Kyaukpyu and establishing a China–Myanmar border economic cooperation zone. Read more…
