Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS) are delighted to present “The Civic Canvas: Highlighting Youth Perspectives”, a series composed of half a dozen essays written by emerging young leaders who participated in this year’s Southeast Asia-South Asia-Taiwan (SEASAT) Youth Camp. In our journey to explore the New Southbound Policy and perspectives on democracy, these essays highlight the significance of collaboration, inclusion, and innovation in shaping the future of leadership and cross-border relationships in the globalized world.

“The Making of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)” is a series of discussion papers jointly produced by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS) and the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Demographic trends, technological advancements, progress towards regional integration and the region’s rise as an economic powerhouse is discussed against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions. Emphasis is placed on the value of multilateralism and the role of international cooperation and diplomacy in maintaining stability and sustaining economic gains.

The IPEF Discussion Papers represent the diverse perspectives and viewpoints offered by scholars in each of the IPEF member countries. The collection includes contributions from various disciplines such as economics, political science, international relations, and others. This interdisciplinary approach enriches our understanding of the depth and breadth of the emerging Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

This report is an offshoot of the The Path to Success: How Women-Owned Businesses Transform in the Era of Digitalization Volume 1 and 2 and takes a closer look at how, through alternative financing models, digitalization can expand WSMEs’ financing options. In this report, we explore how new technology-based financing models can not only lower barriers to entry and optimize application and lending processes, but also support WSMEs’ access to traditional financing. By allowing the entrance of fin-tech firms, tech companies, and mobile network providers, alternative financing solutions also create a more inclusive environment for WSMEs seeking funding.

The papers in this volume—Age of Ferment: Developments in Asian–European Trade Relations— examine the role of trade in facilitating recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication contains two sections. The first section deals with Asia’s global value chains’ transformations in selected sectors and also provides a sketch of the region’s economic trajectory following these systemic disruptions. The second section analyses Europe’s evolving trade relations with Asia using the recent free trade and investment agreements as lenses. As trade relations become increasingly more complex, it is essential to find common ground to ensure an inclusive recovery from the ravages of the current crisis. We hope that the perspectives offered in these papers will be able to contribute to these efforts.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Introduction by Sanjay Kathuria

Section I.
Asia in Transition

1. COVID-19 and Resilient Supply Chains: A Regional Economic Perspective by Amitendu Palit
2. The Semiconductor Industry in the Age of Trade Wars, COVID-19, and Strategic Rivalries by Willem Thorbecke

3. Digital Investment and Post-Pandemic Recovery in ASEAN by Sineenat Sermcheep

4. Rebooting South Asian Trade for the Post-COVID-19 World by Srinivasan Thirumalai

5. Sri Lanka’s Apparel Industry: COVID-19 Impacts, Resilience, and Recovery by Anushka Wijesinha

Section II.
Asia-Europe Trade Connectivity

1. European Trade Relations with Asia by Axel Berger

2. On the Relevance of Free Trade Agreements in the Asia-Pacific: A European Perspective by Jürgen Matthes

3. Asian-European Supply Chain Risks by Hubertus Bardt

4. The Future of Europe-Asia Trade Relations after RCEP by Alessia Amighini

5. A Marriage of Convenience: A Critique of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment by Chien-Huei Wu

6. EU-Asia Relations Post-COVID-19: Green Recovery, Value Chains, and Sustainable Trade by Gauri Khandekar

*KAS Japan strives to continue providing publications that are suited to the needs of our readers. We would sincerely appreciate if you can take 5 minutes of your time to share your feedback with us on this publication here.

The ‘Mother of Waters’ is heavily troubled. There is an immediate need to reset the institutional rules that are either too outdated, lack regulatory teeth, or fail to substantially address both old and emerging concerns. If governments fail to do this, a unique ecosystem will die, in effect destroying the lives of millions of people. The volume, published by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s (KAS) Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS), contains country-specific papers or case studies on trade, labour, and China’s growing political influence in the Greater Mekong Region. Topics include (1) labour migration and displacement in the Mekong River basin, (2) the impact of pandemics on economic and social patterns, (3) interregional trade and growing competitiveness, and (4) geopolitical issues resulting from coercive water and energy politics, among others. The chapters also provide discussions on how each state’s respective national framework attempts to address these issues.

Table of Contents

Water, Energy, Climate Change, and Geopolitics in the Mekong River Basin: An Introduction by Brahma Chellaney

Section 1: Water and Energy Politics

– China’s Water Diplomacy in the Mekong: Drivers and Goals by Hongzhou Zhang

– Forced Displacement and Economic Development: Assessing the Impacts of China-Funded Projects in Myanmar by Julius Cesar I. Trajano

– Will the Benefits of Laos’s Future Hydropower Infrastructure Projects Outweigh the Costs? by Jose Ma. Luis Montesclaros

– China and the Politics of Energy Demand in the Mekong Region: Responses from Laos and Cambodia by Andrea Haefner and Sovinda Po

– Reassessing the Impact of Hydropower Development Project along the Mekong River Basin in Cambodia by Rasmeykanyka Bin and Ponleu Soun

– Vietnam’s Response to China’s Growing Dominance in the Mekong: A Quest for Harmonious Coexistence by Phan Xuan Dung

– Water Politics in the Mekong Region: Vietnam’s Position in the Stakeholder Power-Interest Grid by Nhi Le Phuong Cat and Nghia Huynh Ho Dai


Section 2: Trade, Economic Development, and Labour Migration

– Trade, FDI, and Growth in CLMV: Pre- and Post-Pandemic Evolution by Jayant Menon

– COVID-19 and Rural Development in the Mekong River Region: Case Studies from Thailand and Laos by Hermann Waibel, Chompunuch Nantajit, Phouvong Phami, and Somkid Naprom

– Water Politics in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Implications and Challenges on Thailand’s Border Trade and Inbound Labour Immigration by Upalat Korwatanasakul and Wannaphong Durongkaveroj

– Labour Migration in the Mekong Region: Cambodian Workers’ Mobility and Survival Strategies by Naomi Hatsukano

– Conclusion: The Responsibility to Protect by Frederick Kliem

*KAS Japan strives to continue providing publications that are suited to the needs of our readers. We would sincerely appreciate if you can take 5 minutes of your time to share your feedback with us on this publication here.

Southeast Asia in focus: In no other region is the economic, the political and military rise of China so striking and so powerful; in no other region does Beijing question the rules-based international order (especially in the South China Sea) so aggressively. Adaptation strategies to the rise of Beijing and the growing conflict with the former Pacific superpower differ from country to country. Amid a (fear and/or perceived) declining US engagement in the region, Southeast Asia invariably needs to seek alternatives.

What alternatives can the rules-based international order offer Southeast Asia and who can serve as a counter hedge vis-à-vis China in the region? And in an era of great power competition, what actions should Southeast Asian countries take to avoid crisis? By examining Japan’s role in Southeast Asia in this research, we have ascertained implications on the queries. Our report also has implication for the EU, which aims to strengthen its relationship with ASEAN according to its Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Our research group – comprising leading experts from Japan and five ASEAN countries – Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand – conducted case studies focusing on Japan’s role for Southeast Asia and the region’s changing strategic and economic dynamics due to US-China contestation. Our report includes the analysis of Japan-ASEAN relations from Japan’s perspective, which summarizes the Japan-ASEAN relationship and analyses the options Japan can offer to ASEAN under the US-China bipolar world. The report concludes with policy implications for European and German policy makers and experts.

This study is a joint project between the KAS office in Hanoi/Vietnam and Koki Shigenoi, Research Associate at the Asia-Pacific Department at KAS headquarters in Berlin/Germany.

The publication examines how technology, digitalization, and other relevant forces shape the future of work in Asia. The first section provides an anticipatory look at how life and work is restructured by wide-ranging technological changes. The second section focuses on how our educational systems can be reconfigured to keep up and take advantage of these changes. Lastly, the third section evaluates how similar technologies have different impacts on different sectors of the economy. The papers analyse and look at these issues from different perspectives. Some focus on the regional level, others present country analyses, while a few present micro case studies. We hope that this publication contributes to concrete policy action from both governments and businesses in supporting and preparing human capacities today for our work in the future.

*KAS Japan strives to continue providing publications that are suited to the needs of our readers. We would sincerely appreciate if you can take 5 minutes of your time to share your feedback with us on this publication here.

One of three case studies that were published in 2022, the South Korea case study explores the present and future new opportunities of digitalisation for South Korean women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (WSMEs) and provides insights to address the challenges for all ecosystem stakeholders. It is part of a continuation of the same study conducted in 2020 by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s (KAS) Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS) and Woomentum, focusing on the role of digitalisation in helping WSMEs navigate throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The South Korea Case Study is structured around four pillars: 1) access to financing; 2) access to mentoring, networking, and skills; 3) business process management; 4) crisis management (COVID-19).

As a follow up to the ‘COVID-19 and the future of doing business in Asia’ which discussed how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in selected East and Southeast Asian countries had to improve their agility, innovation, and resilience in response to the pandemic, the new volume is more in-depth and provides a more thorough discussion on the insights for policies, business strategies, and international relations. The report specifically focuses on SMEs in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines and looks into their corresponding strategic crisis responses as they sought to ensure business continuity while concurrently protecting the welfare of their workers and adhering to the safety protocols imposed by the government.

*KAS Japan strives to continue providing publications that are suited to the needs of our readers. We would sincerely appreciate if you can take 5 minutes of your time to share your feedback with us on this publication here.

One of three case studies that were published in 2022, the Vietnam case study investigates whether digitalisation offers opportunities to women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (WSMEs) to overcome gender-related challenges in Vietnam and provides policy and practical recommendations to all stakeholders. It is part of a continuation of the same study conducted in 2020 by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s (KAS) Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS) and Woomentum, focusing on the role of digitalisation in helping WSMEs navigate throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The Vietnam Case Study is structured around four pillars: 1) access to financing; 2) access to mentoring, networking, and skills; 3) business process management; 4) crisis management (COVID-19).