Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Introduction The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in 1967 by Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration in Bangkok. ASEANs objectives were to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region. To promote regional peace and stability, active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields. ASEAN was subsequently expanded over the years to include Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia making up the ten member states of ASEAN today. Despite the expansion, the objectives and working principles of ASEAN have remained unchanged throughout the years. The ASEAN way of informal networking had been effective in creating a cohesive, peaceful and economically successful ASEAN bloc. This essay will address the question of ASEANs relevance to stability, security and prosperity of Southeast Asia in three parts. First, the essay will attempt to examine the power-balancing role of US in Southeast Asia. Secondly, the essay will analyze the conditions under which ASEAN was created to illustrate how ASEANs objectives are aligned with stability, security and prosperity of Southeast Asia. Lastly, this essay will explore in more depth how ASEAN remains essential to the stability, security and prosperity of Southeast Asia. The essay shall then conclude why the interpretation of MM Lees words is not accurate in current context and why ASEAN is not merely a supplement to the power-balancing role played by the US. Power-Balancing Role of US in Southeast Asia The strategic presence of US in Southeast Asia has not prevented USs allies and partners in the region from low-intensity conflicts and non-traditional threats. For example, there is still a high incident rate of piracy activities in the Malacca straits, Singapore straits and South China Sea. The strategic presence of the US has also not provided any security to the states in Southeast Asia from the attack by terrorist groups. Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia had all fallen victim to terrorist bombing, not once, but on several occasions. The attacks might even be triggered by the close ties between US and the states in Southeast Asia. The terrorist would have view the states as being pro-US thus became a target for the terrorist groups. The third Indochina War was officially brought to a close with the October 1991 agreements at the Paris Conference (PICC). With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the regional role of the US is no longer being shaped by the American Cold War imperatives in Southeast Asia. Impetuses for the Founding of ASEAN Most Southeast Asian states, less Thailand, attained political independence after centuries of foreign domination and colonization after the end of World War II. As such, nation building was the primary focus of ASEAN during its early years of formation. Furthermore, forming a regional organisation could fill the power vacuum left by the major powers, which used the region for proxy wars and major power rivalry. ASEAN provided a platform for the newly independent states to concentrate in their nation building and economic development. ASEAN was thus formed to create a peaceful and stable environment for nation building and growth among the Southeast Asian states. Despite the wish for peace and stability, the world in the 1960s era was embroiled in the war against communism. Communist threat to existing governments at that time was severe. The region was overwhelmed with communist insurgencies and there were imminent danger of communism spreading across Southeast Asia. Economic growth, a means to prevent the spread of communism was thus another important objective for the formation of ASEAN. Although Southeast Asia faced a common enemy, suspicions and distrust caused by Konfrontasi, the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation was prevalent among the member states. With the change in political leadership in Indonesia in 1966 with Suhartos replacement of Sukarno as Indonesias President, this spells the end of Sukarno regime and the end of Konfrontasi. It was also the beginning of Suhartos New Order regime and Good Neighbour policy. In order to achieve peace and stability in the region, it was important to first restore confidence and reassure Southeast Asia of Indonesias peaceful intentions. As a result, ASEAN was formed under the principle of non-interference in each others domestic affairs to create a tolerant environment for members to engage without suspicion and doubts. Given the above conditions, ASEAN was formed with the objectives to promote regional peace and stability, co-operation, economic development, and generating social and cultural progress. Defence arrangement such as SEATO was deliberately avoided to prevent being seen as overly pro-Western and provoking to Vietnam. ASEANs Achievements It has been four decades since ASEAN was founded. The achievements of ASEAN cannot be downplayed, for the fact that ASEAN is the one and only permanent regional association in Asia. Stability of Southeast Asia ASEAN had provided the framework for regional stability. The ASEAN Way of doing things had proven its strength based on how far ASEAN have came since its founding. The specific features of ASEAN Way are: informal process of interaction, informality, quiet diplomacy, dialogue and consultation, self-restraint, flexible consensus, lowest common denominator emphasis, conflict avoidance. They also respect each others National sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-use of force etc. standard Intl Relations principles. Their mode of operations is process-orientated and network-based model of co-operation that avoids bureaucratic arrangements. The Treaty of Amity and Co-operation in Southeast Asia (TAC) was signed by the member states of ASEAN in Feb 1976. The purpose of this Treaty is to promote perpetual peace, everlasting amity and co-operation among their peoples which would contribute to their strength, solidarity and closer relationship. This treaty has seen a growing number of countries outside Southeast Asia accepting it. In 2004, four more countries acceded to the treaty, namely, Japan, Pakistan, Republic of Korea and Russia. The ASEAN Social and Cultural Community (ASCC) was form to achieve a socially cohesive and caring ASEAN. It is intended to foster co-operation in addressing a grab bag of social and cultural problems associated with rural poverty, population growth, unemployment, human resources development, education, environment, and health. An example of the level of co-operation the member states have can be seen in the incident of SARs outbreak in Asia. ASEAN has been proactive in seeking to contain infectious diseases, which know no border. During the outbreak, a special ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Bangkok was called in Apr 2003; the ASEAN heads of government mandated a comprehensive regional response to the threat posed by the disease, the spread of which was wreaking havoc on their economies. Although the actual job of fighting the spread of the disease fell to the public health officials of the states, the coordination of measures was carried out at the health minister level of the ASEAN +3. Another example is the Singapore-Malaysia dispute over Pedra Branca islands. Both countries laid claim to the Pedra Branca islands although Singapore had been the custodian of the Horsburg Lighthouse situated on the island throughout the last century. The dispute could not be resolved within ASEAN; however, both Singapore and Malaysia had agreed to bring it to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2007. This dispute came to an end with the ICJ ruling sovereignty of Pedra Branca to Singapore and that of Middle Rocks to Malaysia. ASEAN also manage to resolve the Cambodian crisis during the 1980s thru the ASEAN-Post Ministerial Conference (ASEAN-PMC) which assumed its current form when the US, Canada and Japan joined in 1978. Security of Southeast Asia TheZone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN)declaration was signed in 1971 by the Foreign Ministers of theASEANmember states (Indonesia,Malaysia, thePhilippines,SingaporeandThailand). In the declaration, the parties publicly stated their intent to keepSouth East Asiafree from any form or manner of interference by outside Powers and broaden the areas of co-operation. The ASEAN Regional Forum was formed in 1994 with the objective of promoting peace and security through dialogue and co-operation in the Asia Pacific. It is important that ARF continue to play its role in the political and security dialogue as well as confidence building. TheSoutheast AsianNuclear-Weapon-Free ZoneTreaty(SEANWFZ) of 1995, orBangkok Treaty, is anuclear weapons moratorium treaty between 10 Asian member-states under the auspices of theASEAN. It entered into force on March 28, 1997 and obliges its members not to develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over nuclear weapon. This is crucial to both confidence building in Southeast Asia and to worldwide nuclear disarmament. Vietnam has joined ASEAN in 1995 and the ARF, and the long overdue normalization of relations between the US and Vietnam has finally happened, under the influence of ASEAN. The Vientiane Action Programme (VAP) adopted at the 10th ASEAN Summit contained several measures to guide ASEANs effort in countering terrorism from 2005 2010. These measures form the preparatory steps to the establishment of an ASEAN Extradition Treaty as envisaged by the ASEAN Security Community (ASC) Plan of Action. Prosperity of Southeast Asia One of the main objectives of ASEAN is to improve economic development. ASEAN has since negotiated for Free-Trade Agreements (FTA) with various dialogue partners of ASEAN. The FTAs were established with Australia New Zealand, China, India, Japan and Republic of Korea. Since 2000, European Commission and ASEAN are already discussing trade and investment issues at Ministerial (EC-ASEAN Economic Ministers) and official (Senior Economic Official Meeting) levels. The key challenge is to promote region-to-region economic relations, particularly by addressing non-tariff barriers through regulatory co-operation using the framework of TREATI (the Trans-Regional EU-ASEAN Trade Initiative), and ultimately to lay the foundations for a preferential regional trade agreement in the future. The Trans-Regional EU-ASEAN Trade Initiative (TREATI) is a framework for dialogue and regulatory co-operation developed to enhance EU trade relations with ASEAN. Study for an EU- ASEAN FTA was then initialed in 2005 and making good progress. In 2006, EU-ASEAN trade represented 5% of total world trade. The EU is ASEANs 2nd largest trading partner, accounting for 11.7% of ASEAN trade (2006). Significantly, 13% of ASEAN exports are destined for the EU, which makes it ASEANs 2nd largest export market after the US. ASEAN as an entity represents the EUs 5th largest major trading partner, accounting to 127 billion EUR, just ahead of Norway and equivalent to Japan. ASEANs trade with the EU has been growing steadily over the past five years, with an average annual growth rate of 4%. On average, EU companies have invested 5.1 billion EUR a year for the period 2003 to 2005. EU is thus by far the largest investor in ASEAN countries: 27% of total FDI inflows from 2001 to 2005 come from the EU, compared to 15% for the US. Conclusion ASEAN was formed during the era of inter-state distrust and the uprising of communism. ASEAN was thus established with the objectives of promoting regional peace, stability and economic progress to facilitate nation building among member states. The working principles, the ASEAN Way of non-interference, informal understanding and consensus building based on lowest common denominator have been effectual in attaining the objectives of ASEAN. The introduction of new member states including Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, had fulfill the dream of including all the countries in Southeast Asia into ASEAN. It can be seen that the strategic presence of US in the region can no longer guarantee the security of the states in Southeast Asia, especially in the current era of non-conventional threats piracy and terrorism. As such, the interpretation of Mr Lees words is not accurate in todays context. Over the last four decades, ASEAN have certainly achieved plentiful in all areas of stability, security and prosperity of Southeast Asia. The ASEAN Way has been successful in promoting regional co-operation and economic development. The nations of Southeast Asia were able to leave their historic rivalries behind them in the name of ASEAN unity. They have also taken the lead to create the ASEAN Regional Forum to engage all their Asia-Pacific neighbours for the first time, to discuss in a structured dialogue on wide-ranging Asian security issues. The Prime Minister of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Mr Bounnhang Vorachith, 29 Nov 2004, said, The role of ASEAN has been increasingly recognised in ensuring peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, through the ARF, with ASEAN as the primary driving force. In conclusion, ASEAN have proven its commitment and achievements through all the ministerial meetings, Communities and forums that it is still relevance to the stability, security and prosperity of Southeast Asia. The fact that EU and the Asia-Pacific states are willing to co-operate with ASEAN; is a testimonial and recognition of ASEANs achievements. It is not merely an adjunct or supplement to the power-balancing role played by the United States. The role of ASEAN is indeed central to the regions well being.

Chinese Economic Reform :: essays papers

Chinese Economic Reform Two years after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, it became apparent to many of China's leaders that economic reform was necessary. During his tenure as China's premier, Mao had encouraged social movements such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which had had as their base ideologies such as serving the people and maintaining the class struggle. By 1978 "Chinese leaders were searching for a solution to serious economic problems produced by Hua Guofeng, the man who had succeeded Mao Zedong as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader after Mao's death" (Shirk 35). Hua had demonstrated a desire to continue the ideologically based movements of Mao. Unfortunately, these movements had left China in a state where "agriculture was stagnant, industrial production was low, and the people's living standards had not increased in twenty years" (Nathan, Andrew J. China's Crisis pg. 200). This last area was particularly troubling. While "the gross output value of industry and agr iculture increased by 810 percent and national income grew by 420 percent between 1952 and 1980; average individual income increased by only 100 percent" (Ma Hong quoted in Shirk, Susan L. "The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China." Berkeley pg. 28). However, attempts at economic reform in China were introduced not only due to some kind of generosity on the part of the Chinese Communist Party to increase the populace's living standards. It had become clear to members of the CCP that economic reform would fulfill a political purpose as well since the party felt, properly it would seem that it had suffered a loss of support. As Susan L. Shirk describes the situation in The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, restoring the CCP's prestige required improving economic performance and raising living standards. The traumatic experience of the Cultural Revolution had eroded popular trust in the moral and political virtue of the CCP. The party's leaders decided to shift the base of party legitimacy from virtue to competence, and to do that they had to demonstrate that they could deliver the goods. This movement "from virtue to competence" seemed to mark a serious departure from orthodox Chinese political theory. Confucius himself had posited in the fifth century BCE that those individuals who best demonstrated what he referred to as moral force should lead the nation.

An Alarming Portrait of the Nuclear Power in the World

Unfortunately, even if someone could wave a magic wand that causes all of the nuclear weapons on earth to disappear, many believe that due to the depletion of natural resources, the earth would still be in danger of catastrophe, and humankind in danger of extinction. Jonathan Schell's book â€Å"Fate of the Earth† is an alarming portrait of the nuclear power in the world. Since the end of World War II, nuclear arms have kept the world's population in a state of constant concern that â€Å"something† could happen, whether by design or accident. As tensions continue to build throughout the Middle East, particularly between India and Pakistan, and more recently the nuclear potential of North Korea and China, the nuclear arms race may have subsided between the United States and Russia however, it is still alive and thriving around the globe. As Schell writes, â€Å"These bombs were built as weapons for war but their significance greatly transcends war and all its causes and outcomes†¦ They grew out of history, yet they threaten to end history† (Schell 3). The potential for nuclear war seems to increase daily as more countries seek to obtain the ultimate weapon of power, the â€Å"Rolls Royce† of combat, the ability to destroy thousands of lives in a flash. Yet with that flash, comes not only the possibility but the probability of more flashes resulting in incalculable damage to life and the earth itself. Schell writes that nuclear weapons â€Å"are a pit into which the whole world can fall – a nemesis of all human intentions, actions and hopes† (Schell 3). Yet, many believe that the earth's future is in peril even without the threat of nuclear wars. They believe that the impact of man upon the environment and the planet's natural resources threatens the earth and humankind as greatly as any nuclear war. Within recent decades, many environmental indicators have moved outside the range in which they have varied for the past half-million years (Wallstrom pp). According to a 2004 article in the International Herald Tribune, â€Å"We are altering our life support system and potentially pushing the planet into a far less hospitable state† and if policies cannot be developed to cope with the â€Å"uncertainty, complexity and magnitude of global change, the consequences for society may be huge† (Wallstrom pp). Although there has been much progress during the last century, such as the eradication of major diseases along with increased life expectancy and standards of living for many, the global population has tripled since 1930 to more than six billion and shows signs of continue growth, and moreover, the global economy has increased more than 15-fold since 1950 (Wallstrom pp). This progress has led to a wide-ranging impact on the environment as human activities have begun to significantly affect the planet and how it functions (Wallstrom pp). Atmospheric composition, land cover, marine ecosystems, coastal zones, freshwater systems and global biological diversity have all been substantially affected,† however, it is the magnitude and rate of this human-driven change that are most alarming (Wallstrom pp). The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide due to human activity is nearly 100 parts per million and still growing (Wallstrom pp). This is already equal to the entire range experienced between an ice age and a warm period such as today and it has occurred at least ten times faster than any natural increase in the last half-million years (Wallstrom pp). Moreover, human influence extends beyond atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and increases in global mean temperature (Wallstrom pp). During the 1990's, the average area of humid tropical forest cleared yearly was equivalent to roughly half the area of England, and at current extinction rates, humans â€Å"may well be on the way to the Earth's sixth great extinction event† (Wallstrom pp). The Earth is a well-connected system, thus, carbon dioxide emitted in one country rapidly mixes throughout the atmosphere, and pollutants released into the ocean in one location are transported to distant parts of the planet (Wallstrom pp). The impacts of global change are complex, since they combine with local and regional environmental stresses in unexpected ways (Wallstrom pp). For example, coral reefs are now under additional pressure from changing carbonate chemistry in ocean surface waters, a result of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (Wallstrom pp). Moreover, the wildfires that hit Europe, Canada, California and Australia in 2003 were the result of many factors, such as land management, ignition sources and extreme local weather (Wallstrom pp). However, prevailing warm and dry conditions, most likely linked to climate change, amplified fire intensity and extent (Wallstrom pp). Due to poor access to fresh water, more than two billion people now live under what experts call â€Å"sever water stress,† and with population growth and economic expansion, this number is expected to double by 2025 (Wallstrom pp). Biodiversity losses, currently driven by habitat destruction associated with land-cover change, will be further exacerbated by future climate change. Beyond 2050, rapid regional climate change, as would be caused by changes in ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, and irreversible changes, such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the accompanying rise in sea levels of 6 meters, or 20 feet, could have huge economic and societal consequences (Wallstrom pp). Past geological records indicate that never before has the Earth experience the current â€Å"suite† of simultaneous changes and many feel that humans are sailing into â€Å"planetary terra incognita† (Wallstrom pp). According to a 1999 article from Cornell University, â€Å"because population growth can not continue indefinitely, society can either voluntarily control its numbers or let natural forces such as disease, malnutrition, and other disasters limit human numbers† (Pimentel pp). Human population, especially in urban areas, together with the increasing food, water, air, and soil pollution by pathogenic organisms and chemicals, are causing a rapid increase in the prevalence of disease and human deaths (Pimentel pp). Due to current food shortages, more than 3 billion people are malnourished worldwide, the largest number and proportion ever, and according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 40,000 children die each day due to malnutrition and other diseases (Pimentel pp). Humans are responsible for fifty-five percent of all available water run-off (Myers pp). Moreover, greater amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus are mobilized by humans in the form of crop fertilizer than by natural processes, and humans harvest an amount of ocean fish that reflects fully one third of phytoplankton productivity in temperate continental shelves (Myers pp). A NASA study released in April 2005, has revealed the heat exchange between the Earth and space is seriously out of balance, leading researchers to call it the â€Å"smoking gun† discovery that validates forecasts of global warming (Hanley pp). According to computer models of climate change, the global temperatures will rise 1 degree Fahrenheit this century, â€Å"even if greenhouse gases are capped tomorrow† (Hanley pp). And if carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions continue to grow, things could spin â€Å"out of our control† especially as ocean levels rise from melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets (Hanley pp). James Hansen of NASA said the research shows that â€Å"for every square meter of surface area, the planet is absorbing almost one watt more of the sun's energy than it is radiating back to space as heat – a historically large imbalance† (Hanley pp). According to a Stanford University study release May 16, 2005, the first signs of spring are appearing earlier each year: robins are arriving several days earlier, woodpeckers are laying their eggs a week earlier, and Washington's cherry trees bloom a month earlier than they did fifty years ago (Borenstein pp). The study says that man-made global warming is clearly to blame, and means that the global environment is changing so fast that the slow evolutionary process of species adaptation cannot keep up (Borenstein pp).

Definition and Examples of Metanoia

Metanoia is a  rhetorical term for the act of self-correction in speech or writing. Also known as  correctio or the figure of afterthought. Metanoia may involve amplifying or retracting, strengthening or weakening a prior statement. The effect of  metanoia, says Robert A. Harris, is  to provide emphasis (by fussing over a term and redefining it), clarity (by providing the improved definition), and a sense of spontaneity (the reader is thinking along with the writer as the writer revises a passage) (Writing with Clarity and Style, 2003). EtymologyFrom the Greek, change ones mind, repent Examples and Observations Kreuz Market is the ultimate barbecue restaurant—no, scratch that—barbecue experience in Central Texas (and therefore the world).You might have heard a pin fall—a pin! a feather—as he described the cruelties  inflicted on muffin boys  by their masters . . ..(Charles Dickens,  Nicholas Nickleby, 1839)To Put It a Better Way . . .  [W]ithout that association, that sense of membership in something—or to put that a better way, without a sense of belonging and participation in a group effort, the employee loses focus on what were trying to accomplish.(Unnamed president of a media company quoted in The Servant Leader, by James A. Autry. Prima Publishing, 2001)Let Me Correct That . . .Shortly after I came to Washington I was told in a way that showed me it was no loosely thought out—let me correct that statement. I was told in a serious way that Mr. Finletter—or rather, I was told by Mr. Finletter that he had serious question as to the loyalty of Dr. Oppenheimer.(David Tressel Griggs, witness at physicist J. Robert Oppenheimers hearing before the Atomic Energy Commissions Personnel Security Board, May 1954. In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Security Clearance Hearing, ed. by Richard Polenberg. Cornell University Press, 2002)Or More Properly Speaking . . .The meal, when beaten up, is used for thickening broths, and rolled up into bolsters about a foot long and two inches in diameter, and then wrapped in plantain leaves, and tied round with tie-tie and boiled, or more properly speaking steamed, for a lot of the rolls are arranged in a brass skillet. . . . [T]he whole affair is poised on the three cooking-stones over a wood fire, and left there until the contents are done, or more properly speaking, until the lady in charge of it has delusions on the point, and the bottom rolls are a trifle burnt or the whole insufficiently cooked.(Mary H. Kingsley, Travels in West Africa, 1897)For my own part, cried Pereg rine, with great eagerness, I appeal to Miss Sophys decision. But why do I say appeal? Though I am conscious of having committed no offence, I am ready to submit to any penance, let it be ever so rigorous, that my fair enslaver herself shall impose, provided it will entitle me to her favour and forgiveness at last.(Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, 1751)The Persuasive Value of Metanoia- Metanoia can have mild persuasive value. The speaker may utter a less controversial claim, then revise it to make it stronger. This brings the reader along more gently than announcing the stronger claim on its own. Or conversely the stronger claim may be offered first but then reduced to something less ambitious that seems easy to accept by comparison. . . .Metanoia can create an impression of scrupulousness, as the speaker starts to say one thing but then feels obliged to take the initiative in correcting it. (It also can suggest overscrupulousness, as when the speaker fusses too much.)(Ward Farnsworth, Farnworths Classical English Rhetoric. David R. Godine, 2011)-  Metanoia can serve a variety  of rhetorical ends. Stopping to correct oneself disrupts the flow of discourse, drawing attention to and emphasizing the revision.  Or, in a move similar to  paralipsis, retracting a statement allows the speaker to introduce an idea or claim and then avoid responsibility for having done so.  Sometimes strengthening an  initially mild or uncontroversial statement (or qualifying an initially strong one) can persuade an audience by making the speaker seem more reasonable.(Bryan A. Garner,  Garners Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press, 2016)Finding the Right Word[I]t seemed to me that there was a safe and unassailable foundation for our claim to interfere on behalf of British subjects, and that was the right which every State possesses to protect its subjects in another State from wrong. That was a right which we possessed in an unusual degree in S outh Africa owing to the peculiar position of the country—a country where there were two races side by side, both of them determined in their opinions, with a history of their own, and jealous of their independence. Perhaps independence is not the right word to use. I mean, rather, jealous of the equality of their rights.(John Wodehouse, Earl of Kimberly, Address in Answer to the Queens Speech, Oct. 17, 1899)I Should Say . . .I rather was minded to make known to you that I—or, I should rather say, we, and Mr. Crawley pointed to his wife--shall not accept your plainness of speech as betokening aught beyond a conceived idea in furtherance of which you have thought it expedient to make certain inquiries.I dont quite follow you, said the major.(Anthony Trollope, The Last Chronicle of Barset, 1874) Pronunciation: met-a-NOY-ah