ASEAN and China: This blog has spent considerable time following the
ASEAN+China free trade deal from the perspective of various nations in the region. The Asia Times has a new article concerning the “win-win” possibilities of the deal and what the incentive is for ASEAN nations. It also provides some telling data:
According to estimates of the Central Intelligence Agency in the United States, all of ASEAN together in 2008 had only one-third of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). The economy of Shanghai is one-and-a-half times that of Singapore. Guangdong’s GDP exceeds that of Indonesia, while the combined economies of Guangxi and Yunnan, middling provinces by Chinese standards, exceed those of their neighbors Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
Therefore, Southeast Asia is necessarily more alert to the risks as well as the opportunities of its relationship to China. Proportionally, it has more at stake, and the sense of risk as well as opportunity is all the more vivid to individual states in Southeast Asia.
Malaysia: 9 Christian churches were vandalized over the weekend, due to a court ruling on Friday, which stated that Christians can use the word “Allah” for God in their writings. Many Muslims leaders believe this should be reserved for God as it relates to Islam, so not to confuse Muslims (read: make them think Christianity is equal to Islam or make them feel curious about another faith). Only one of the attacks was considered to cause significant damage and no serious injuries have been reported. Ethnic Malays are 60% of the population and Muslim, whereas the remainder are mostly Chinese and Indian. Christians make up slightly under 10% of the population.
Myanmar: Despite their on going ethnic minority and land border problems, Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to resolve their maritime border dispute. The main issue has been:
“…natural gas and mineral-rich zone in the Bay of Bengal in accordance with the principles of “equi-distance and equity of resources,” officials said…”
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