| Summary/Abstract |
The Asian countries have failed to get their acts together. Despite the economic imperatives pushing for a grand alliance among the Asian countries along the lines of European Union, any such formation had not been possible even after more than a decade into the 21st century. In fact, Asia, of late, has become a hotbed of conflicts, controversies and contradictory claims and counter-claims among the various countries. The increasing tensions over territorial disputes, rising military budgets and dawdling economic growth threaten to “impede trade, tourism and investment especially if incidents occur between rival air or naval forces operating in close proximity over or around disputed waters and territories. Cyberspace is another domain in which competition could get out of hand.” As Asia is passing through a phase of transition- from poverty and political irrelevance to prosperity and political dominance- it has to contend with power imbalances and growing security challenges. The resurfacing of Cold War era territorial and maritime disputes has led to formation of alliances and counter-alliances and reconfiguration of power equations in the region. The intensification of geo-political competition among the major Asian countries has thwarted any attempt towards political integration that would have resulted from greater economic interdependence.
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