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Abstract The international organizations are regionalization in the Post-Cold War Era . In Asian-Pacific region , the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Association of Southeast are the most important international organizations . In order to adapt the trend of regionalization and to join this two international organizations , Taiwan makes a series of the political¡Beconomic and social culture policies , but the members of this two organizations do not change the attitude toward Taiwan and still recognize ¡§One China ¡§ policy . Up to now Taiwan still could not participate high level councils of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation and also could not join the Association of Southeast as sovereign state . The reason why is not only the political pressure from China but also the members of this two organizations have more interests in economic and political cooperation with China than Taiwan.

The Border Trade between border provinces of Mainland China and their neighboring countries is a unique form of economy and trade. Before the reform and opening up in 1978, due to political, diplomatic, secure and planned economic considerations, the border trade had been rather limited. After the reform and opening, PRC began to reform foreign trade regime and to execute decentralization. Provinces scrambled developing foreign trade to prosper local economy. Border provinces, geographically in disadvantage, relied on border trade as a means of boosting economy, which has been featured in the model of foreign trade. Meanwhile, in order to take care of the ethnic minority in border provinces, the government has applied preferential rules successively to help promote border trade. Since the 1980¡¦s, accompanied with the improvements of relation between the PRC and its neighboring countries, Mainland China began to pay attention to the development of border trade. The Guangxi¡¦s ethnic minority lives in a gathered community. Owing to poor natural circumstances and long-term fighting, it has become one of the economically laggard provinces of border. Guangxi borders on Vietnam. Bilateral border trade has a long history, though it had been interrupted for a certain time due to strategic status and deterioration of China-Vietnam relationship. Until the relationship was normalized in the end of 1991, the border trade between both sides reached a new stage. While the PRC carries out an open-door system for border and has endowed with border trade preferential policies since 1992, Vietnam also executes opening the market and reforming economic policies. In consequence, the amount of Guangxi-Vietnam¡¦s border trade has been growing fast; border trade carries a heavy weight in foreign trade. Border trades make effects on promoting the living standard, increasing the income of frontiers, escalating local government¡¦s revenue, improving local construction, adjusting industrial structure, attracting foreign investment, strengthening local economic capability, benefiting the frontier steadiness and people united, as well as expanding good relationship with neighboring-countries. Obviously, border trades have made a significant meaning and contribution in economic development. Recently, it became a trend for countries and regions all over the world to carry out a closer economic cooperation on free trade, and form a regional economic group. Appropriate method to develop Guangxi¡¦s border trade is to furthermore become involved in the framework of economic regionalization of the neighboring-countries, to enlarge the magnitude of foreign-trade and to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

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.

Univ., Diss.--Göteborg, 2008.

This study analysed the effects of international trade on human development in two developing regions, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The choice of comparing SADC and ASEAN is motivated by the many similarities between both regions half a century ago, and the stark divergence of their respective development pathways which has led to different development outcomes half a century later. Annual data from 2000 to 2018 and dynamic panel data econometric techniques were used in this study, controlling for individual country characteristics, endogeneity, serial correlation, heterocedasticity and interdependencies between the countries in each region. Two estimations were done in this study; sample wide estimations and country specific estimations. In the sample wide estimations the Generalised Method of Moments of Arellano and Bover (1995) with forward orthogonal deviations, and Feasible Generalised Least Squares of Parks (1967) and Kmenta (1986) were used, whilst Swamy’s Random Coefficients were used in the country specific estimations. Trade is measured using the current account balance as a percentage of GDP, whilst human development is captured by the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI). In the sample wide estimations, the study found that trade openness enhances human development for both SADC and ASEAN as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). Gross fixed capital formation, economic growth and technological progress all had positive effects on human development in both regions. Unemployment had a counter intuitive positive effect on human development. This raises issues on the nature and quality of employment, including concerns on cheap production labour and vulnerable employment. The ASEAN region had a higher mean level of economic growth, a trade surplus and higher level of technological progress than SADC. This is consistent with the manufacturing focus of ASEAN, compared to the primary commodity exporting nature of SADC which had a trade deficit. However, in each region there were country specific differences in terms of what drives human development. The country specific disparities in drivers of human development have implications for the regional trade and development nexus. In particular, these disparities must be considered in the conceptualization and implementation of the SADC Industrialisation and Strategy Roadmap, and the most recent African Continental Free Trade Area. The policy implication is that such regional trade agreements should accommodate countries’ specific heterogeneity as the policy pathways will differ between countries. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Management Studies)

This thesis set out to ascertain the position of recent Australian Governments on the latest instalments of Asian regionalism in the context of an assessment of whether there has been a redefinition of Asia and thus a redefinition of Australia???s engagement with Asia. It will concentrate on the broad themes of politico-strategic and economic engagement. Whilst there has been extensive research and documentation on the Asian economic crisis there has been less work on the issue of a new Asian regionalism and the implications for Australia???s complex and variable engagement with the region. This is the basis for the claim to originality of this thesis, a claim supported by its focus on the practical and policy implications of Australia???s engagement, or lack of it, with regional institutions. The process of regional integration has been extremely slow, thus supporting the conclusion that there is no evidence of a major redefinition of Asia. Efforts at Asian regionalism are meeting obstacles that pose immense challenges. Asian regionalism remains nascent and poorly defined. This reflects the diversity and enormous disparities in cultures, political systems and the levels of economic development and differences over economic philosophies within East Asia. What is discernible is that the regionalism is proceeding more rapidly on financial issues than on trade, and in the security area it is conspicuously absent. This research highlights the fact that the question of Asian engagement remains a sensitive issue in Australia and continues to grow more complex. Australia???s engagement with Asia since 1996 has been variable because of the Howard Government???s broader balance of priorities between global and regional issues, and because of the changing nature of the Asian region. The perception gleaned from sources is that, for the Australian Government, regionalism initiatives are characterised by much discussion but lack substance. Consequently, this appears to have led the Government to the position that exclusion from some manifestations of regionalism is not so important. Australia is excluded from some of the regional architectures being constructed. In its efforts to seek inclusion in ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, Australia is facing the same barriers that have stood in the way of an AFTA-CER agreement. Exclusion would be important if the performance of regional groupings was not so indifferent. Exclusion from ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, however, does not equate to Australia???s exclusion from the region.

This thesis set out to ascertain the position of recent Australian Governments on the latest instalments of Asian regionalism in the context of an assessment of whether there has been a redefinition of Asia and thus a redefinition of Australia???s engagement with Asia. It will concentrate on the broad themes of politico-strategic and economic engagement. Whilst there has been extensive research and documentation on the Asian economic crisis there has been less work on the issue of a new Asian regionalism and the implications for Australia???s complex and variable engagement with the region. This is the basis for the claim to originality of this thesis, a claim supported by its focus on the practical and policy implications of Australia???s engagement, or lack of it, with regional institutions. The process of regional integration has been extremely slow, thus supporting the conclusion that there is no evidence of a major redefinition of Asia. Efforts at Asian regionalism are meeting obstacles that pose immense challenges. Asian regionalism remains nascent and poorly defined. This reflects the diversity and enormous disparities in cultures, political systems and the levels of economic development and differences over economic philosophies within East Asia. What is discernible is that the regionalism is proceeding more rapidly on financial issues than on trade, and in the security area it is conspicuously absent. This research highlights the fact that the question of Asian engagement remains a sensitive issue in Australia and continues to grow more complex. Australia???s engagement with Asia since 1996 has been variable because of the Howard Government???s broader balance of priorities between global and regional issues, and because of the changing nature of the Asian region. The perception gleaned from sources is that, for the Australian Government, regionalism initiatives are characterised by much discussion but lack substance. Consequently, this appears to have led the Government to the position that exclusion from some manifestations of regionalism is not so important. Australia is excluded from some of the regional architectures being constructed. In its efforts to seek inclusion in ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, Australia is facing the same barriers that have stood in the way of an AFTA-CER agreement. Exclusion would be important if the performance of regional groupings was not so indifferent. Exclusion from ASEAN + 3 and ASEM, however, does not equate to Australia???s exclusion from the region.

Nearly four decades of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union (EU) relationship have witnessed the importance of ideas and identity alongside the economic interests in shaping the behaviour of the two sides. The study takes interest in understanding the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor with and within Southeast Asia through a reflectivist lens. The thesis is an attempt to provide a new perspective on a relationship commonly assessed from an economic angle. It outlines the opportunity of non-traditional security (NTS) challenges to enhance EU actorness and normative influence in Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the study explores the dialogue and cooperative initiatives of two regions, which attach relatively little salience to each other. The study employs a NTS lens and draws upon the case of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98, the haze in relation to forest governance, the Bali bombings of 2002 and the political conflict in Aceh. The study assumes that these NTS issues can stimulate processes of threat convergence as well as threat ‘othering’. It argues that these processes enhance European engagement in Southeast Asia and contribute to shaping regional stability in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, NTS crises present situations, where norms can become unstable, contested and substituted. This allows us to better examine the EU as a normative actor. To establish an understanding of the EU’s actorness and the EU as a normative actor, the empirical evidence will focus on the threat perceptions, motivations of action and activities of the EU and its member states. For the purpose of differentiating the EU as a normative actor, the study will also include the discussion of the normative objectives and behaviours of the EU and its member states and apply a reflectivist theoretical framework. Hypothetically, NTS crises trigger external assistance and normative influence and thus, they offer an opportunity to establish a more nuanced picture of the EU in the region. At the same time, the study acknowledges that there are a variety of constraints and variables that complicate the EU’s actorness. The thesis seeks to identify and discuss these. So far, scholarly publications have failed to apply the NTS perspective systematically. This thesis provides the first monograph-length treatment of the EU in Southeast Asia through a NTS and reflectivist lens.