East Asian Economic Miracle
To what extent has the East Asian economic miracle relaxed tensions between the regional powers?
During 1960 to 1990, East Asia experienced a huge transformation in its economic development which is now widely referred to as the East Asian economic miracle. This was largely a result of the growth of eight economies known as the high-performing Asian economies, hereinafter HPAEs. These comprised Japan, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, and the three newly industrialised economies (NIEs) which were Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to the 1960s, tensions between the regional powers were relatively high, which was evidently the result of several major events including the Sino-Japanese war, the wars between Japan and Russia and Japan and Korea and the invasion and colonisation of certain regions. After 1960, however, a radical adjustment in the interactions between these regional powers developed, arguably as a result of the creation of organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. This illustrates a significant relaxation of tensions which effectively promoted economic, social and cultural co-operation between the member states.[1] Nevertheless, the extent to which such tensions have diminished is questionable, especially in light of the effects of both the Cold War and the Korean and Vietnamese wars.
In order to develop a valuable analysis which documents the political implications of the East Asian economic miracle, it is first necessary to briefly outline the preceding tensions which existed in order to measure the extent to which tensions subsequently relaxed. Prior to 1960, relations between China and Japan were undoubtedly hostile. In 1964, China fought Japan in the Sino-Japanese war over the control of Korea which resulted in the Japanese acquisition of Taiwan and the Liaodong province and the independence of Korea. In 1931 Japan had invaded Manchuria and was in occupation of this
During 1960 to 1990, East Asia experienced a huge transformation in its economic development which is now widely referred to as the East Asian economic miracle. This was largely a result of the growth of eight economies known as the high-performing Asian economies, hereinafter HPAEs. These comprised Japan, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, and the three newly industrialised economies (NIEs) which were Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to the 1960s, tensions between the regional powers were relatively high, which was evidently the result of several major events including the Sino-Japanese war, the wars between Japan and Russia and Japan and Korea and the invasion and colonisation of certain regions. After 1960, however, a radical adjustment in the interactions between these regional powers developed, arguably as a result of the creation of organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. This illustrates a significant relaxation of tensions which effectively promoted economic, social and cultural co-operation between the member states.[1] Nevertheless, the extent to which such tensions have diminished is questionable, especially in light of the effects of both the Cold War and the Korean and Vietnamese wars.
In order to develop a valuable analysis which documents the political implications of the East Asian economic miracle, it is first necessary to briefly outline the preceding tensions which existed in order to measure the extent to which tensions subsequently relaxed. Prior to 1960, relations between China and Japan were undoubtedly hostile. In 1964, China fought Japan in the Sino-Japanese war over the control of Korea which resulted in the Japanese acquisition of Taiwan and the Liaodong province and the independence of Korea. In 1931 Japan had invaded Manchuria and was in occupation of this
Bibliography: Chan, Steve. East Asian Dynamism: Growth, Order, and Security in the Pacific Region, Colorado, USA and Oxford, England, Westview Press, 1993 Rodan, Garry, Kevin Hawson, and Richard Robison The World Bank. The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy, New York, Oxford University Press, 1993. Ahn, Choong Yong. “Introduction and Overview.” East Asian Economic Regionalism: Feasibilities and Challenges. Eds. Ahn, Choong Yong, Richard Baldwin and Inkyo Cheong. The Netherlands: Springer, 2005 Callahan, William States and Development in the Asian Pacific Rim. Eds. Appelbaum, Richard P. and Jeffrey Henderson. United States of America, Sage Publications, Inc, 1992. Asian NIEs & the Global Economy: Industrial Restructuring & Corporate Strategy in the 1990s. Eds. Clark, Gordon L. and Won Bae Kim. United States of America, The John Hopkins University Press, 1995. Asian States: Beyond the developmental perspective. Eds. Boyd, Richard and Tak-Wing Ngo. United States of America and Canada, RoutledgeCurzon, 2005. Fishlow, Albert. Miracle or Design? Lessons from the East Asian Experience. United States of America, Overseas Development Council, 1994. [2] Rodan, Garry, Kevin Hawson, and Richard Robison. The Political Economy of South East Asia: Conflicts, Crisis and Change, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997. [5] The World Bank. The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy, New York, Oxford University Press, 1993. [22] Callahan, William. Contingent States: Greater China and Transnational relations. Minnesota, University of Minnesota Press, 2004 [23] Ahn, Choong Yong