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ID:
163114
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article interrogates one of the most important emerging bilateral relationships in East Asian international relations: Japan’s politico-economic relations with Burma/Myanmar (herein referred to as Burma). A long-time ally since the Second World War, Japan’s role in Burma came under increasing and eventually unbearable pressure with US sanctions from the 1990s. However, since 2011 Japan has rapidly extended its influence in Burma—influence understood multi-dimensionally as comprising institutional, ideational, and material power—and built upon those well-established historical ties. This rush to rejuvenate relations has been driven by more than historical amity. It has been due to various shifts in the forms of state in East Asia and changes in the regional power order—principally increasing competition with China—and has also been informed both by Burma’s desire to begin internationalizing and industrializing and Japan’s enthusiastic assistance in this process. The article interrogates three key questions associated with these post-2011 developments: What has been the nature of Japan’s rush to rejuvenate its relations with Burma? Why has this been such a priority for Japan at this time? And how has Japan been endeavoring to secure its foreign policy goals with Burma? It concludes that Burma is in the middle of a period of great tension, and despite its democratic transformation (or rather because of it) is not best placed to handle the forces bearing down upon it. Great caution and attention is needed towards Burma, the “final frontier” of Southeast Asia, as big changes are coming and with these come significant and potentially overwhelming challenges for the country, its leaders and its people.
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| 2 |
ID:
140128
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| Summary/Abstract |
Development of peripheries has always been a major challenge for large states. One of the drivers of the underdevelopment of the peripheries has been the traditional state-centric security perception. As a result, state-led development suffers from a built-in bias against the peripheries. Market signals emanating from the operation of the national economy are not strong enough to bring the resources of the peripheries into immediate use. This is the theoretical rationale to look beyond the framework of the national economy and the state-centric mindset while formulating the development strategy for border areas. Sub-regional cooperation like Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) has the potential to promote growth in southwest China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and northeast India by way of utilising the complementarities of these regions. The mobilisation of cross-border synergies is destined to make the BCIM one of the economically vibrant zones that may develop the cross-border connectivity among the land-linked areas.
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