AS NATIONS across the world continue to cope with the economic downturn, one country in the region often neglected by the international media has chalked up an economic success story that few can match.
AS NATIONS across the world continue to cope with the economic downturn, one country in the region often neglected by the international media has chalked up an economic success story that few can match.
“YOU’VE got to understand, the resources boom is over,” Australia’s Resources Minister Martin Ferguson told the media late last month. But is this necessarily a bad thing?
LAST week’s announcement by Myanmar’s information ministry that it had abolished direct media censorship was hailed by observers as yet more evidence that the process of reform is well under way.
“THE Asian Century is upon us,” declared an article in the Adelaide Advertiser last month as the local media trumpeted the results of the 2011 Census. Indeed, for those Australians who have long believed their country should embrace Asia rather than cling to outdated ideas about preserving the nation’s status as a European enclave, the census had some encouraging news. But the data also revealed several potentially disturbing trends that could have an impact on Australia’s relations with neighbouring nations.
WILL the current flap between Malaysia and Indonesia over the origin of the Tor-Tor traditional dance lead to a greater popular awareness among Indonesians of their cultural heritage?
Asia is the fastest growing region in the world, and is likely to remain so in 2013. However, a number of risks cloud the picture.
The good news is that domestic demand in the region remains strong and should continue to cushion the impact of weaker external demand on overall economic growth. The completion of national elections in Japan and South Korea in December 2012 should also help reduce political uncertainties.
But Asian governments will need to guard against the adverse impact of prolonged easy financial conditions on inflation.
Rising inequality also continues to threaten social stability. Ethnic and religious rivalries remain just below the surface in many countries. When combined with government corruption and (in some countries) high youth unemployment, this could become a deadly mix. This seems particularly true of China.
Territorial disputes also require close monitoring. Much diplomatic activity in the new year is likely to be centered on finding ways to reduce tensions over resource-rich islands in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims overlap with those of Japan, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian states. South Korea and Japan also have rival territorial claims.
North Korea remains the wild card. Inclined to believe its own propaganda, Pyongyang's new leadership could miscalculate, making belligerent moves that plunge the region into a military conflict that nobody wants.
My name is Dr Bruce Gale and I am a senior writer with the Singapore Straits Times. I studied at LaTrobe University (BA Hons) in Melbourne and later at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Monash University (MA). My PhD thesis, which focussed on Malaysian political economy, was completed at the Malaysian National University (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) in 1987.
From 1988 to 2003 I was Singapore Regional Manager for the Hong Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).
I have written several books and articles on Southeast Asian affairs, including Political Risk and International Business: Case Studies in Southeast Asia (Pelanduk Publications, 2007). Books on language include Mastering Indonesian: a guide to reading Indonesian language newspapers (Pelanduk Publications, 2008)