Chansok Lak | Royal University of Phnom Penh (original) (raw)
Papers by Chansok Lak
The International Spectator, 2016
The EU brought out a Global Strategy for foreign and security policy in June 2016, which indicate... more The EU brought out a Global Strategy for foreign and security policy in June 2016, which indicates European efforts to reflect on and reshape its grand strategy. Meanwhile, China is also conducting an in-depth assessment of the international order under transition, and strives to rebalance its own national development and foreign policies. Beijing is pursuing a connectivity-oriented grand strategy. The peaceful rise of China depends on whether China and other economies can fully leverage each other's development opportunities, and become stronger by taking advantage of increasing interconnectedness in the world. The One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative is a key element of such a grand strategy and will have far-reaching implications for China-Europe relations. 1 Brugier, "china's Way".
Introduction: a new Silk Road for Central Asia The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aimed at conne... more Introduction: a new Silk Road for Central Asia The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aimed at connecting China, Europe and countries located along routes between China and Europe, was suggested by Xi Jinping in September 2013. This Chinese initiative envisages the completion of more than 100 small-and large-scale infrastructure projects that would improve China's connectivity with Western Europe via Central Asia and Russia, including roads, railroads, pipelines, industrial parks, and special economic zones. The five Central Asian states-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-are an important geographical focus of the project. BRI encompasses nearly half the world's population, vast resources and 40 percent of global GDP (gross domestic product). As of 2017, 68 countries-including the Central Asian states-had expressed an interest in joining BRI. The plan is that the infrastructure will be accompanied by large-scale investment from Chinese companies and institutions such as the Silk Road Foundation with funds of US$40 billion, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with funds of US$100 billion. In addition, Beijing plans to provide development aid to the countries that participate in BRI. There has been a steady increase in the influence of China in Central Asia since the early 1990s (Indeo 2017, p. 37). The total trade turnover between China and Central Asia grew 60-fold between 1991 and 2016, from US$500,000 million to 30 billion, excluding significant informal trade by small-scale entrepreneurs. Currently, 23,000 students from Central Asia study in China and more than 700,000 people travelled between Central Asia and China in 2015 (Forbes 2017a). Because of BRI, China is likely to remain the biggest investor in the region in the future, far exceeding the potential economic footprint of Russia and the West (Laruelle 2018, p. xii). China has also become one of the biggest importers of Central Asian energy resources. After BRI was launched, Beijing rapidly scaled up its public diplomacy and strengthened its soft power presence, especially in education and culture, thus increasingly becoming a norm-setter in Central Asia (Dave 2018, p. 99).
The International Spectator, 2016
The EU brought out a Global Strategy for foreign and security policy in June 2016, which indicate... more The EU brought out a Global Strategy for foreign and security policy in June 2016, which indicates European efforts to reflect on and reshape its grand strategy. Meanwhile, China is also conducting an in-depth assessment of the international order under transition, and strives to rebalance its own national development and foreign policies. Beijing is pursuing a connectivity-oriented grand strategy. The peaceful rise of China depends on whether China and other economies can fully leverage each other's development opportunities, and become stronger by taking advantage of increasing interconnectedness in the world. The One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative is a key element of such a grand strategy and will have far-reaching implications for China-Europe relations. 1 Brugier, "china's Way".
Introduction: a new Silk Road for Central Asia The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aimed at conne... more Introduction: a new Silk Road for Central Asia The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aimed at connecting China, Europe and countries located along routes between China and Europe, was suggested by Xi Jinping in September 2013. This Chinese initiative envisages the completion of more than 100 small-and large-scale infrastructure projects that would improve China's connectivity with Western Europe via Central Asia and Russia, including roads, railroads, pipelines, industrial parks, and special economic zones. The five Central Asian states-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-are an important geographical focus of the project. BRI encompasses nearly half the world's population, vast resources and 40 percent of global GDP (gross domestic product). As of 2017, 68 countries-including the Central Asian states-had expressed an interest in joining BRI. The plan is that the infrastructure will be accompanied by large-scale investment from Chinese companies and institutions such as the Silk Road Foundation with funds of US$40 billion, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with funds of US$100 billion. In addition, Beijing plans to provide development aid to the countries that participate in BRI. There has been a steady increase in the influence of China in Central Asia since the early 1990s (Indeo 2017, p. 37). The total trade turnover between China and Central Asia grew 60-fold between 1991 and 2016, from US$500,000 million to 30 billion, excluding significant informal trade by small-scale entrepreneurs. Currently, 23,000 students from Central Asia study in China and more than 700,000 people travelled between Central Asia and China in 2015 (Forbes 2017a). Because of BRI, China is likely to remain the biggest investor in the region in the future, far exceeding the potential economic footprint of Russia and the West (Laruelle 2018, p. xii). China has also become one of the biggest importers of Central Asian energy resources. After BRI was launched, Beijing rapidly scaled up its public diplomacy and strengthened its soft power presence, especially in education and culture, thus increasingly becoming a norm-setter in Central Asia (Dave 2018, p. 99).
As expected, during the forum the business leaders and representatives of political and expert co... more As expected, during the forum the business leaders and representatives of political and expert communities from Russia and the ASEAN countries will discuss key issues of trade and economic, technological and investment cooperation, as well current issues of economic development in Russia and the ASEAN nations. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed starting consultations with members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the ASEAN on a possible economic partnership.
A war-torn Cambodia used to experience various social, political and economic policies driven by ... more A war-torn Cambodia used to experience various social, political and economic policies driven by Chinese Maoism, Soviet socialism and western capitalism from 1953 to 1993 when the first post-conflict election was held to end the internal frictions. In the early phase of development, Cambodia " s government adopted constitutional monarchy, pluralist liberal democracy and capitalist system. The current Hun Sen " s government has, therefore, gained legitimacy by political and economic means, obtaining political stability and predictable economic growth at an average of 6-8 per cent annually. However, inequality, social injustice and much dependency on foreign aids and assistances along with weak political leadership and trial-and-error economic policies have been trapping Cambodia into a neo-patrimonial and clientelistic society where merely a small group of powerful elites and business conglomerates are benefiting from the growth. Therefore, in order to graduate itself from LDC status to emerging economy and to achieve a long-run economic development, " Look East Policy " , which here refers to only " Kimchi Model " 2 or Korean development model, is a useful apparatus for Cambodian government to take into consideration. Four key factors of the model are (1) strong political leadership and government " s economic roles in the industrialization; (2) development ownership; (3) export-led strategies; and (4) human resource development.