Special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions in GATT were created to assist developing countries achieve economic progress while assimilating into the multilateral trading system. Despite these intentions, global trade imbalances still persist. Within this context, I focus on the region of East Asia which has experienced astounding growth in just several decades, propelling it far beyond other developing country regions. Although international trade continues to be the crucial factor driving growth in the region, reliance on SDT has in certain circumstances hindered development. As such, East Asia should seek alternatives to SDT. In that vein, I argue that sustainable growth and trade liberalization can be achieved by enhancing integration through a regional trade agreement. I further discuss various proposals for an East Asian trade agreement such as ASEAN+3, FTAAP, and EARTA. Finally, I highlight the importance of governance and identify several institutions essential for a successful regional arrangement.

Special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions in GATT were created to assist developing countries achieve economic progress while assimilating into the multilateral trading system. Despite these intentions, global trade imbalances still persist. Within this context, I focus on the region of East Asia which has experienced astounding growth in just several decades, propelling it far beyond other developing country regions. Although international trade continues to be the crucial factor driving growth in the region, reliance on SDT has in certain circumstances hindered development. As such, East Asia should seek alternatives to SDT. In that vein, I argue that sustainable growth and trade liberalization can be achieved by enhancing integration through a regional trade agreement. I further discuss various proposals for an East Asian trade agreement such as ASEAN+3, FTAAP, and EARTA. Finally, I highlight the importance of governance and identify several institutions essential for a successful regional arrangement.

Since the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, China has become a nation that rises to strong power. While the USA, Japan, the EU and Russia marvel at China¡¦s progress and improvement, its neighboring countries in Asia were worried. They question whether the rise of China will bring about peaceful co-operation between nations or it will lead to potential threats. But China in 2005 claimed to take the path of peaceful development in order to improve the image of China. At the time the formation of the European Union, for its member countries to enjoy the advantage over import and export trade with each other, Asia also started a new union of its own, the ASEAN. Although there were negative impacts on China with Tiananmen Square Incident and poisonous milk incident, the Beijing 2008 Olympics games and the World Expo 2010 Shanghai have helped to improve the China¡¦s image which has brought the attention of the ASEAN. China signed the free trade agreement with the ASEAN in 2010 resulted in ASEAN Plus One. In addition, zero tariff trade agreement starting has further improved the development of China¡¦s economy. The Taiwanese government has signed the ECFA with China in June 2010 which relates to the development of the nation in the next ten years to a large extent. However, will ECFA really prevent the marginalization of Taiwan in the global economy or will Taiwan become more marginalized? Will China exploit the economy of Taiwan due to ECFA? Or will it help the Taiwanese economy to reach its peak? In this thesis, the theory of international relations will be examined at the global, international, local and individual levels and the analysis on the future development of the ASEAN and the Cross-strait political and economic relations of China and Taiwan from the perspectives of improving the image of China and ECFA will be carried out. The prediction of the future development of relations among the ASEAN, Mainland China and Taiwan will also be included in this research. Finally, suggestions will be provided in the conclusion for the leaders to make any future decisions on the issues discussed. It is unquestionable that most ¡§peaceful co-operation¡¨ between Taiwan and Mainland China has ever existed is happening today in the past 62 years of Cross-strait co-operation history. As such, it is hoped that the developments of both Mainland China and Taiwan can be sustained and they can co-operate to explore the resources of South East Asia.

This thesis has explored two basic themes in post-Cold War international relations. The first is the transformation of the global and regional security environments leading to a projected decline in the importance of traditional realist-style security problems. The second is the supposed shift in state behavior with conflictual strategies giving way to accommodation. These presumed trends are explored in the context of Southeast Asia and, more specifically, China's security strategies and relations in the region. This study argues that conventional security problems have declined in Southeast Asia in the short term but still remain prominent. In terms of policies, while China's goals remained partly revisionist with regard to territorial issues and status/power relationships, its approaches became more accommodative in coping with disputed issues in the region. This was manifested above all in its gradual acceptance of a multilateral framework for dialogue on regional security issues and in its willingness to undertake some confidence building measures in the military area. This shift can be explained partly in terms of China's external political concerns at both the global and regional levels. The more fundamental explanation, however, lies in China's drive for economic modernization with an accommodative regional strategy intended to ensure the flow of external resources required for this purpose.

金融危機後，東協尋求進一步區域經濟合作，中國大陸有爭逐區域霸權的思維，提供市場及其他公共財予東協，兩者開展合作；而日本憂慮中國大陸崛起，也積極與東協合作，但是多邊制度甚至一開放的東亞區域經濟建制對日本有利，不過欲保持自身自主性的東協及欲排除其美國於東亞勢力的中國大陸並不贊成。中國大陸也認知到區域內需中日共存與合作；日本雖欲建立制度領導，但仍遭遇東協與中國大陸之疑慮，況又有來自國內保守壓力；但是東協透過集體與中國大陸簽訂「自由貿易協定」，再由東協成員國個別與日本簽訂自由貿易協定的方式，尋求東亞經濟合作，使得東亞區域雖無一正式化經濟合作制度，但彼此卻已展開實質經濟合作，本論文將要探討在這過程中，東協國家如何彈性地避開爭議又獲得東亞地區實質合作的進展。 / After the financial crisis, ASEAN sought for further regional economic cooperation. China bearing the thought to pursue becoming the regional hegemony provides ASEAN with public goods and ASEAN started to cooperate with China. And Japan who was worried about the rise of China began to cooperate with ASEAN actively. But the multilateral regime, or a open-end East Asia regional economic regime is more beneficial to Japan. ASEAN who wants to keep their self-autonomy and China who has a strong wish to exclude the U.S. influence form East Asia do not approve to build the multilateral economic system in East Asia. China recognizes that China and Japan must work economically together and co-exist in East Asia. Although Japan who needs to handle the doubts of ASEAN and China hopes to build a system and to lead the economic cooperation within the region, Japan encounters the conservative power domestically. ASEAN who looks for the economic cooperation in East Asia by concluding the Free Trade Agreement with China collectively and Japan individually to make real economical cooperation in East Asia. This paper is going to discuss how does ASEAN flexibly avoid the disputes and achieve real economic cooperation progress during the economic cooperation process.

<p>The main objective of this study was to examine the prospects and challenges facing ACFTA (Asean-China free trade area). It examined what ought to be done by the ASEAN member nations to match China's competitive ability having recently joined the World Trade Organization. The study also examined the compatibility of the ACFTA with the World Trade Organization rules and mode of dispute settlement under ASEAN and NAFTA as well as profound issues relating to ACFTA.</p>

Univ., Diss.--Münster, 2006. / Literaturverz. S. 199 - 206.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of South Carolina, 1988. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-229).

Recent developments in the South China Sea have shed light on the motivations and capabilities of China. A multilateral ASEAN defense community based on collective security would better situate claimant states to offset a rising China. Unfortunately, the lessons learned from SEATO, and the current internal characteristics of ASEAN, leave little hope for collective security to be achieved in Southeast Asia without superpower intervention.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo tentar explicar se e como as dinâmicas regionais impactariam nas decisões de política externa de Estados. Para isso, primeiramente tomaremos a Agenda de Regionalismo de Amitav Acharya como base para trabalharmos essa questão, tendo em vista suas possibilidades para que nossa hipótese e tema escolhidos sejam abordados de uma maneira mais completa. Em segundo lugar, avançaremos para o entendimento da ASEAN tendo em vista as disputas no Mar do Sul da China, sendo que em primeiro lugar focaremos na compreensão do processo de formação da ASEAN e, depois, da sua Agenda Regional de Segurança que permeia o pensamento dessa instituição sobre esses conflitos. Por último, analisaremos a relação da China com a ASEAN, tentando entender a maneira pela qual Beijing se insere nessa questão do Mar do Sul da China e como a mesma altera a sua visão sobre esse conflito após os anos 1990 utilizando a base metodológica fornecida pela Agenda de Regionalismo de Amitav Acharya. / This dissertation has as objective to explain if and how the regional dynamics would impact the foreign policy decisions of States. To do this, we will first take Amitav Acharya's Regionalism Agenda as a basis for working on this issue, given its possibilities for our chosen hypothesis and theme to be addressed in a more complete way. Secondly, we will move forward to ASEAN's understanding of the disputes in the South China Sea, focusing first on understanding the ASEAN formation process and then on its Regional Security Agenda that permeates the thinking about these conflicts. Finally, we will look at China's relationship with ASEAN, trying to understand how Beijing addresses this issue of the South China Sea and how it alters its view on this conflict after the 1990s using the methodological basis provided by Regionalism Agenda constructed by Amitav Acharya. / Dissertação (Mestrado)