Asia Maior in 2021: Pandemic crisis; US-China confrontation; authoritarian involution (original) (raw)
Related papers
Asia Maior Vol. XXXIV/2023, 2024
As in 2022, in 2023 Asia was marked by three major developments: the US-China confrontation, the contraction of freedom in many Asian countries, and the fallout from wars in Western Eurasia, including the Gaza war. The US-China rivalry continued to dominate international relations; whereas both Washington and Beijing cautiously avoided direct confrontation, both pursued policies aimed at strengthening their own position and, in so doing, diminishing that of the other power. The Biden administration anti-China policies included an embargo on advanced semiconductors and increased military presence in the Indo-Pacific, particularly through the AUKUS pact. Also, diplomatic ties with Asian countries were strengthened, notably through the US-Japan-South Korea entente and enhanced US-Taiwan relations. Additionally, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) was launched to strengthen economic ties and counter China's influence in the region. China, on the other hand, continued its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – although shifting towards smaller, greener projects – and launched new initiatives like the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), and Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) to bolster its influence. Through these initiatives China offered a source of financial support to the coun¬tries of the Global South, which was alternative to the sources controlled by the West and, in so doing, it emerged as «the lender of last resort» to developing countries. Also, as theorized in the GCI, China’s economic support was offered without imposing the acceptance of China’s ways. Authoritarianism deepened in both openly authoritarian states and self-proclaimed democracies. This was a process well in evidence in the two most populous countries in Asia (and the world), China and India, where dissent was repressed and minorities persecuted. Other Asian countries like Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran also saw democratic backsliding and human rights violations. Nonetheless, countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal showed democratic resilience, whereas the Philippines saw a reversal of the authoritarian policies previously followed by Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022). The economic and geopolitical impacts of the Ukraine war and the Gaza conflict added to regional instability, leading to increased military spending. On the whole, the evolution of the three major developments characterizing the situation in Asia in 2023 were such as to warrant the conclusion that the situation, as in the previous years, remained bleak and that much optimism about the future of the region was unwarranted.
Irish Studies in International Affairs, 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic is currently analysed as a social and economic problem, predominantly at a national level, even though certain activities are coordinated at an international or supranational level. While there are varying levels of vulnerability in different countries, the pandemic is having a significant effect on the global system's relative distribution of power, which will change in the aftermath of the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. This problem is especially visible in relations between the current leader of the international system - the United States - and its main challenger, the People's Republic of China. The chief goal of this paper is to analyse Covid-19's influence on the transformation of the global system, with a special focus on the roles of the US and China. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the relative distribution of power between the US and China will be analysed. The analysis will be based on the power transition theory. A single case study of Southeast Asia is used to study the impact of Covid-19 on the power distribution between China and the US.
A Fearful Asymmetry_Asia-Pacific Journal.pdf
Asia-Pacific Journal, 2020
There is a longstanding and fundamental asymmetry in level of mutual understanding between the US and China. Chinese citizens are avid consumers of American media and cultural products, whereas most Americans are woefully unfamiliar with even the basics of Chinese history and culture. This asymmetry has resulted in a situation where the US is in danger of misinterpreting or misunderstanding Chinese motivations in bilateral relations, particularly in times of crisis. This paper recounts how the Covid-19 epidemic of 2020 exacerbated existing tensions between the US and China, and how these escalations in state-to-state conflict were in large part due to America’s information deficit with the PRC.
Introduction: COVID-19 and Authoritarian Creep in South and Southeast Asia
The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic generates many uncertainties for everyone, but for Asia’s poor and marginalized, there is little doubt about the devastating consequences. It’s not only about unequal access to public health care, but also the loss of livelihoods that wreaks havoc in disadvantaged communities living on the edge of subsistence that are more l ikely to experience police abuses under the pretext of lockdown and quarantine enforcement. As second and third waves strike, the menace of this coronavirus and the high risk of letting our guard down becomes all the more evident. Resurgences of cases in Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan provide stark reminders that turning the corner does not mean being out of harm’s way. Much debate focuses on the trade-off between public health and jobs as various degrees of lockdowns boost unemployment, especially for contingent workers. Moreover, the contagion of fear and anxieties about the future, along with travel restrictions and closed schools, keep...
2005
Over the last few years, there have been events that brought about dramatic changes to Asia. These events included the 1997 financial crisis, the economically crippling Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic, the accelerated formation and near collapse of Southeast Asia as an economic regional bloc, terrorist attacks and Islamic extremism, among others.