The Economic Scene

The U.N. Economic Commission for and the Pacific includes among the nations of Eastern South Asia Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, the Khmer Repub lic, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. To attempt to survey economic developments in a region so heterogeneous?ethnically, poli tically and geographically?may seem a rash undertaking. The hardcore of the region undoubtedly lies in the ASEAN states, a grouping of five Southeast Asian nations apparently determined to pursue the mixed market road to economic development and integrate themselves into the world economy. Quite distinct from the ASEAN members is the newly emergent Indochinese group ing of Kampuchea, Laos and a unified Vietnam. These countries are apparently committed to some variant of the Marxist model of economic and social development although it is still unclear whether they will adopt the Moscow or Maoist line or endeavour to evolve a distinct version of their own. Equally unclear is the extent to which these three countries will wish to co-operate economically and otherwise with one another, with the rest of the communist world, with the other developing nations of Asia, and with the Western industrial nations. On the western fringe of the region Burma remains obstinately aloof, apparently still reluctant to engage in open economic and trade relations with any other power. The costs of this iso lation are the stagnation of a once prosperous export economy and growing political unrest and alienation among the educated youth. Partly an economic survey and partly an attempt to speculate on future eco nomic developments in the region as a whole, this article begins with a brief survey of economic developments in the ASEAN countries, and follows this with a dis cussion of events in Indochina and Burma (a difficult task as the data limitations are formidable). The more speculative part of the paper discusses some of the pressing longer-term economic problems that affect all nations of the region, re gardless of political orientation. These include the closely related issues of poverty, unemployment and maldistribution of income and wealth and the problem of dependency, or the degree to which the various economies must integrate them selves into the world economy in order to achieve any real progress

Political science · Global Financial Crisis and Policies · Global trade and economics

• Naval power and diplomacy in the nineteenth century

  C I Hamilton•Journal of Strategic Studies•1980

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