Viewing the AEC as a Work in Progress will not Help it Achieve its Goals
As the ASEAN Economic Community’s (AEC) December 2015 deadline approaches, most observers feel that the initiative’s deliverables — an integrated production space with free movement of goods, services, and skilled labour — are unachievable. This may be true. However, the...
AIIB 101: Yes its International, but Mostly its China
The 57 founding members of the China-sponsored Asian Investment Bank will meet on May 20 in Singapore. Many countries rushed to join the new development bank before the March 31 deadline even though key rules remained undecided. Even the size...
BRICS New Development Bank – does it have what it takes?
The newly established BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is going to be headed by Indian banker KV Kamath. The bank is headquartered in Shanghai and is an attempt to bring together emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South...
Understanding China’s Frustration with the World Bank and the Creation of the AIIB
To understand the impetus for launching the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), look no further than China’s concern that the governance structure of existing international financial institutions was evolving too slowly. To understand the impetus for launching the Asian Infrastructure...
The AIIB’s Membership Represents a Diplomatic Victory for China
With the number of founding members reaching 57, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), is surely a diplomatic success for China. This is not the first bank initiated by the country. The development bank for Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) groups China,...
What’s in a Name? Ask China about Taiwan’s AIIB Membership Potential
Taiwan has unsurprisingly been rejected as a founding member of the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Standing outside the AIIB tent may not be a bad thing for Taiwan. It offers the Taiwanese government a chance to observe the...
ASEAN Dynamics Work Well, but Security Concerns Cloud its Future
The dynamics at work in ASEAN are an underâ€appreciated but crucial component of the Asia Pacific’s geoâ€political equation. Understanding these dynamics offers insights for policymakers reviewing the United States’ rebalance to Asia. With more than 600 million people, the ten-nation...
China’s Credibility and Influence Risk in the Success of the AIIB
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has become part of Xi Jinping’s ‘Chinese Dream’ of national rejuvenation. The United States’ failure to block other developed economies from joining the AIIB seems to have brought this part of the ‘Chinese dream’...
Political Rhetoric Aside, a Prosperous China is in the U.S.’s Best Interest
The ‘China threat theory’ is once again in vogue, as US President Barack Obama pushes to overcome domestic resistance to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The ‘China threat theory’ is once again in vogue, as US President Barack Obama pushes to...
Failure by the US on the TPP is not an Option for Obama
America's poor response to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has underscored the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. A failure would risk hollowing out one of President Obama's major strategic foreign policy initiatives--the pivot to Asia. A critical piece...
TPP Benefits Appear Far Less Certain than those from the AIIB
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a far more economically efficient option than the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for integrating Asian economies to each other and to the rest of the world. While the United States is attempting to thwart...
Are OPEC’s Days Numbered?
OPEC has been the most talked about international organization among investors, analysts and international political lobbies in the last few months. OPEC has been the most talked about international organization among investors, analysts and international political lobbies in the last...
The U.S.’s Problem with the AIIB is the U.S.
China’s growing economic clout is complicating US efforts to maintain its grip on the world’s leading multilateral economic institutions – as it has done since the end of World War II. The creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),...
ASEAN Members Need to Look Past the Blame Game
Accusations against Cambodia made following the controversial 2012 ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh fail to acknowledge the challenges that each member state faces with the rise of China. Accusations against Cambodia made following the controversial 2012 ASEAN Foreign...
China is Winning Friends and Influencing Countries with the AIIB
In what can only be seen an unexpected Chinese success, several US allies have agreed to participate in China and India's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The UK not only appeared to break ranks with the US, but seemed to have...