Same effects, different causes - Asia, EU and the US

Comments on Wendy Dobson “The financial crisis and East Asia”, and Guy de Jonquieres’ comments, 26/07/2009, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/07/26/the-financial-crisis-and-east-asia/

While what Guy de Jonquieres says may be true, there seems to be a big difference between the Asian case and other cases, that, there has no clear regional governance mechanism or structure formally in place.

In the EU or Eurozone cases, the main causes for lack of policy coordination or mutual assistance may be that the region lacked the financial capacity as a result of the financial and economic crisis, as opposed to other things.

While in the Asian case, they had the capacity to do something, but the lack of clear governance structure or consensual agreements was more likely to be the cause of inaction.

The geopolitical issues for regional influences, especially Japan’s attitude (see “The rise of China: the impetus behind Japanese regionalism” by Takashi Terada earlier on in the EastAsiaforum), have made Asia’s regional institutions building more complex.

Asia needs to overcome geopolitical rivalry within itself and builds truly cooperative regional bodies to advance its welfares.