Southeast Asia cross-regional FTAs: Origins, motives and aims

Pacific Affairs

Volumn 80, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 303-325

  Hoadley, Stephen ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND   (New Zealand)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BUREAUCRACY; DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS; ECONOMIC RELATIONS; FREE TRADE; PARTNERSHIP APPROACH; STATE ROLE; TRADE AGREEMENT;

ASIA; AUSTRALASIA; CHILE; EURASIA; MALAYSIA; NEW ZEALAND; SINGAPORE [SOUTHEAST ASIA]; SOUTH AMERICA; SOUTHEAST ASIA; THAILAND;

EID: 36048966236     PISSN: 0030851X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5509/2007802303     Document Type: Article

References (98)

1. Mireya Solis and Saori Katada, "Understanding East Asian Cross-Regionalism: An Analytical Framework," in this issue.
2. Vinod K. Aggarwal and Shujiro Urata, eds., Bilateral Trade Arrangements in the Asia-Pacific: Origins, Evolution, and Implications (NewY ork, NY: Routledge, 2006);
3. Christopher Dent, New Free Trade Agreements in the Asia-Pacific (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006);
4. Jiro Okamoto, ed., Wither Free Trade Agreements? Proliferation, Evaluation, and Multilateralization (Tokyo: Institute of Developing Economies, 2003);
5. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, vol. 22, no. 1 (April 2005), special issue on Southeast Asian FTAs, especially the overview by Razeen Sally and Rahul Sen, pp. 92-116.
6. Also see Ramkishen Rajan and Rahul Sen, "The New Wave of FTAs in Asia: Implications for ASEAN, China and India," Asian Economic Cooperation and Integration, (Manila: Asian Development Bank, 2005), pp. 123-160.
7. This point is underscored by an anonymous reviewer, confirming an influence exerted by Singapore that few Asian leaders care to admit to in public.
8. Stephen Hoadley, Negottating Free Trade: The New Zealand-Singapore CEP Agreement (Wellington: New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, 2002), pp. 21-23.
9. Ramkishen S. Rajan, Rahul Sen and Reza Y. Siregar, "Singapore and the New Regionalism: Bilateral Trade Linkages with Japan and the US," The World Economy 26, 9 (2003), pp. 1325-1356.
10. Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, "The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership," available at , accessed 25 September 2006.
11. Tommy T.B. Koh, "The USSFTA: A Personal Perspective," in Tommy B. Koh and Chang Li Lin, eds., The United States Singapore Free Trade Agreement Highlights and Insights (Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies, 2004), p. 8.
12. The most comprehensive work on Singpore FTAs is Rahul Sen, Free Trade Agreements in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2004).
13. Also see Margaret Liang, "Singapore's Trade Policies: Priorities and Options," ASEAN Economic Bulletin, vol. 22, no. 1 (April 2005), pp. 49-60;
14. Seungjoo Lee, "Singapore's Trade Bilateralism: A Two-Track Strategy," in Vinod K. Aggarwal and Shujiro Urata, eds., Bilateral Trade Arrangements in the Asia-Pacific, pp. 184-205;
15. Koh and Chang Li Lin, eds., The United States Singapore Free Trade Agreement Highlights and Insights;
16. Michael Leifer, Singapore's Foreign Policy: Coping unth Vulnerability (New York, NY. Routledge, 2000);
17. and N. Ganesan, Realism and Interdependence in Singapore's Foreign Policy (New York: Routledge, 2005).
18. Fumio Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy: Continuity and Change between the Chuan and Thaksin Governments," in Okamoto, ed., Wither Free Trade Agreements?, p. 263.
19. Its members are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, hence the acronym BIMST with EC, Economic Cooperation, added. It is sometimes called the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, which also fits the acronym.
20. European Free Trade Association, whose members currently are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
21. Fumio Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy: From 'Dual Track' Policy to 'New Asian' Policy," in Siriporn Wajjwalku, ed., Japan-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Asian Perspectives (Bangkok: Thammasat University Press for the Thammasat University Institute of East Asian Studies and the Japan Foundation, 2004), p. 98.
22. Michael J. G. Parnwell, ed., Uneven Development in Thailand (Aldershot: Avebury, 1996).
23. Andrew MacIntyre, Business-Government Relations in Industrialising East Asia. South Korea and Thailand (Nathan: Griffith University Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations, 1990).
24. Robert J. Muscat, The Fifth Tiger: A Study of Thai Development Policy (Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 1994);
25. and Anek Laothamatas, Business Associations and the New Political Economy of Thailand: From Bureaucratic Polity to Liberal Corporatism (Boulder: Westview Press, 1992).
26. Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, Thailand's Boom and Bust (Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1998).
27. On the characteristics of the economy at present see the Thailand country chapter in World Bank, "Countries and Regions," available at , accessed 5 September 2005.
28. Peter Warr, ed., Thailand Beyond the Crisis (Abingdon: Routledge Curzon, 2005).
29. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy (2004)";
30. Fumio Nagai, Thailand's Trade Polity: WTO Plus FTA? APEC Study Centre Working Paper Series 01/02, no. 6 (Minahama: Institute of Developing Economies, 2002).
31. Nagai, Thailand's Trade Polity, p. 5.
32. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy (2003)," p. 265.
33. ANZCERTA or more commonly CER, in operation since 1983.
34. Central European Free Trade Area, whose members comprised the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria.
35. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy (2003)," p. 259.
36. Chris Baker, "Pluto-populism: Thaksin and Popular Politics," in Warr, ed., Thailand Beyond the Crisis.
37. Pawin Talerngsri and Pimchanok Vonkhorpom, "Trade Policy in Thailand: Pursuing a Dual Track Approach," ASEAN Economic Bulletin, vol. 22, no. 1 (April 2005), pp. 60-75.
38. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy" (2004), p. 98.
39. Connors, "Thailand."
40. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy (2004)," p. 129.
41. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy (2003)," p. 271.
42. Suthiphand Chirathivat and Sothitorn Mallikamas, "Thailand's FTA Strategy: Current Developments and Future Challenges," ASEAN Economic Bulletin, vol. 21, no. 1 (April 2004), pp. 37-53.
43. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy (2003)," p. 271;
44. Clark Neher, "Burma," in Patrick Heenan and Monique Lamontagne, eds., The Southeast Asia Handbook (London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001), pp. 157-166.
45. Phongpaichit and Baker, Thailand's Boom and Bust, pp. 67-72;
46. Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, Thailand, economy and politics, second ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 162-167.
47. Christopher M. Dent, "Networking the Region? The Emergence and Impact of Asia-Pacific Bilateral Free Trade Agreement Projects," The Pacific Review, vol. 16, no. 1 (2003), pp. 1-28.
48. Thaksin's keynote policy has been called the "Dual Track" policy or Thaksinomics, but this is little more than a label for a rhetorical balancing of external economic liberalization on the one hand and a collection of domestic economic relief initiatives, such as aid to villages, on the other. Chris Baker labels this "pluto-popidism." See Chris Baker, "Pluto-populism: Thaksin and Popular Politics."
49. International Trade Center, "Comparison of Thailand's Export Statistics," available at , accessed 8 February 2006.
50. Chirathivat and Mallikamas, "Thailand's FTA Strategy," p. 48.
51. Nagai, "Thailand's FTA Policy (2003)," p. 258.
52. Speech by Prime Minister Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, "Forward Engagement: The New Era of Thailand's Foreign Policy." Delivered at the Inaugural Lecture of the Saranrom Institute for International Affairs, 12 March 2003, Bangkok, Thailand; available at , accessed 20 March 2006.
53. Jirayu Tulyanond, "Thailand's Trade Policy: Progress and Purpose" available at , accessed 24 April 2007.
54. Chirathivat and Mallikamas, "Thailand's FTA Strategy," p. 51.
55. Thaksin, "Forward Engagement."
56. Nagai, Thailand's Trade Policy, p. 10.
57. Talerngsri and Vonkhorpom, "Trade Policy in Thailand."
58. Trade Policy Review: Thailand 2003 (Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2003), at para. 133 of "Report by the Government," available at , accessed 24 November 2005.
59. Razeen Sally, "Analysis/Thailand's Trade Policy. Too Many Free Trade Agreements, Far Too Little Domestic Reform," ISEAS Viewpoints (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 21 September 2005), available at , accessed 24 November 2005.
60. Sally, "Analysis/Thailand's Trade Policy."
61. Chirathivat and Mallikamas, "Thailand's FTA Strategy," p. 51.
62. Sally, "Analysis/Thailand's Trade Policy."
63. Ambassador Nitya Pibulsonggram, "The importance of the FTA to Thailand," talk to AMCHAM Monthly Luncheon, Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, Bangkok, 25 May 2005, available at accessed 24 April 2007.
64. Aziz Chaudry, "Fighting the US-Thailand Free Trade Agreement," Centre for Research on Globalisation, 28 March 2004, available at accessed on 24 April 2007;
65. Woranuj Maneerungsee, "Trade Pacts May Lead to Legal Changes: NGOs Oppose Threat to Thai Sovereignty," Bangkok Post, 25 January 2005;
66. Rebecca Buckman, "Next U.S. Deal? Try Thailand," Far Eastern Economic Review, 28 August 2003, pp. 18-19;
67. Shawn W. Chrispin and Murray Hiebert, "Thais Punt on Trade Talks," Far Eastern Economic Review, 4 March 2004, pp. 16-18.
68. James Hookway, "Thailand Delays Free-Trade Moves: U.S. Talks, Japan Pact Put on Hold as Turmoil Deals Blow to Thaksin's Agenda," The Wall Street Journal Online, 3 March 2006, available at , accessed 4 June 2006;
69. "Thailand Suspends US Free Trade Talks Due to Poll," Reuters 1 March 2006, available at Bilaterals Web site, at , accessed 24 April 2007.
70. Chirathivat and Mallikamas, "Thailand's FTA Strategy," p. 42;
71. also Tulyanond, "Thailand's Trade Policy,"
72. and Sally, "Analysis/Thailand's Trade Policy," offer similar critiques.
73. Nagai, "Thailand's Trade Policy (2003)," p. 276;
74. Nagai, "Thailand's Trade Policy (2004)," p. 131;
75. Sally, "Analysis/Thailand's Trade Policy."
76. Sally, "Analysis/Thailand's Trade Policy."
77. New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, "National Interest Analysis: New Zealand-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement," Wellington, March 2005, available at , accessed 8 February 2006.
78. Fiona Yap, "Malaysia," in Patrick Heenan and Monique Lamontagne, eds., The Southeast Asia Handbook (London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001), pp. 64-65;
79. Edmund Gomez and Kwanme Jomo, Malaysia's Political Economy: Politics, Patronage, and Profits (Cambridge: Cainbridge University Press, 1999).
80. Helen Nesaduri, "In Defence of National Economic Autonomy? Malaysia's Response to the Financial Crisis," The Pacific Review, vol. 13, no. 1 (2000), pp. 73-113.
81. Prime Minister Mahathir was reported by the Bangkok Post on 27 February 2001 as expressing suspicion that Singapore's FTAs would evade the AFTA rules of origin: "We have to watch this very carefully because this can be a backdoor entry into AFTA." And Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz was reported by The Nation on 6 July 2002 as having said: "In the case of free trade agreements where you bargain on tariff concessions ... then it is going against AFTA rules and cannot be done." See Nagai, Thailands Trade Policy, p. 1. In response to Singapore's FTA with New Zealand, Malaysia's foreign minister in 2000 said, "When we do something outside the ASEAN context which could weaken the organization, we must think twice." See Suzuki, "Linkage between Malaysia's FTA Policy and ASEAN Diplomacy," p. 298.
82. Prema-chandra Athukorala, "Trade Policy in. Malaysia: Liberalization Process, Structure of Protection, and Reform Agenda," ASEAN Economic Bulletin, vol. 22, no. 1 (April 2005), pp. 19-30.
83. Suzuki, "Linkage between Malaysia's FTA Policy and ASEAN Diplomacy," p. 305.
84. Yumiko Okamoto, "The Reluctant Bilateralist: Malaysia's New Trade Strategy," in Aggarwal and Urata, eds., Bilateral Trade Arrangements in the Asia-Pacific, pp. 232-252.
85. Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, "Malaysia and Free Trade Agreements," speech by the minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 27 January 2005, available at , accessed 5 September 2005.
86. Malaysia agreed on 31 March 2005 to begin FTA talks with New Zealand and on 6 April 2005 to begin talks with Australia. All parties hoped to complete the talks by mid-2006, but failed.
87. Bernama, "MITI Invites Inputs for FTA Negotiations" (Kuala Lumpur: Rernama News Agency, 29 August 2005), available at , accessed 7 September 2005.
88. Jackson Sawatan, "Rafidah Says Japan-M'sia FTA May Be Signed In December," (Kuala Lumpur: Bernama News Agency, 29 August 2005), available at . The agreement came into force in the summer of 2006.
89. Edmund Terence Gomez and Jomo K. S., Malaysia's Political Economy: Politics, Patronage and Profits, second ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
90. Since 1958 Malaysia has signed 65 bilateral trade agreements, 6 of them with ASEAN countries, 4 with East Asian countries, 3 with South Asian countries, and 52 with other countries throughout the world. Malaysia has signed economic cooperation agreements of various sorts, for example on investment guarantees, double taxation, payments and air services, with a total of 136 countries, only 23 of which are in Asia. This record strongly qualifies any judgement that Malaysia is a parochial trader. See Malaysia, "List of Agreements Between Malaysia and Foreign Countries" (Kuala Lumpur, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 2005), available at , accessed 5 September 2005.
91. Suzuki, "Linkage between Malaysia's FTA Policy and ASEAN Diplomacy," p. 305.
92. Mark Rolls, "Growing apart, New Zealand and Malaysia," in Anthony Smith, ed., Southeast Asia and New Zealand: a History of Regional and Bilateral Relations (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005).
93. Malaysia, "Malaysia and Free Trade Agreements" (Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 2005), available at , accessed 7 September 2005.
94. Athukorala, "Trade Policy in Malaysia."
95. Christopher Dent, "Bilateral Free Trade Agreements: Boon or Bane for Regional Co-operation in East Asia," European Journal of East Asian Studies, vol. 4, no. 2 (December 2005), pp. 287-314;
96. and "The New Economic Bilateralism in Southeast Asia: Region-Convergent or Region-Divergent?" International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, vol. 6, no. 1 (2006), pp. 81-111;
97. and "The International Political Economy of ASEAN Economic Integration and Bilateral FTAs" (Südostasien Aktuell [Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs] Issue 1, 2007, pp. 16-51).
98. For his book-length treatment of this important theme see Dent, New Free Trade Agrements in the Asia-Pacific.