ASEAN Decorum Rudely Shattered - All Hail China!

The Economist Magazine, May 17th 2014, carried a very sharp article on page 28, about the inadequacies of ASEAN and the ASEAN way.

Recall, I had blogged about China's provocative act of building oil rigs 200 miles off Vietnam's shores and Vietnam's mobs burning the wrong factories. (most incompetent!)

However, one should ask, what about ASEAN?  Is ASEAN standing by and watching China take over the South China Sea?   China is now so big and mighty that there is no way a single ASEAN member can take her on alone.  United we stand, divided we fall.

Nothing more than a talk-shop, maybe.

The Economist article is worth reading in full,   I will just quote the last paragraph.

"The association's founding in 1967, in a region where the cold war was raging hot in Vietnam and conflicts between its founder members seemed possible, was a visionary act. Its ten members could hardly be more diverse: communist dictatorships, new democracies and, in Brunei, a tiny Islamic sultanate which is introducing medieval punishments into its legal system.

"A step-change in regional integration now would once again require visionary leadership, and it is hard to see where it would come from.

"Indonesia, the regional giant, is preoccupied with a political transition and seems likely in July to elect a new president, Joko Widodo, with little experience or known interest in international affairs.

"Thailand is intent on political self mutilation, unable to govern itself, let alone wield regional influence.

"Vietnam and Malaysia have governments distracted by their own unpopularity, focusing on problems at home.

"Myanmar is on the throes of a transition from military dictatorship to an as yet undefined destination.

"The Philippines's president, Benigno Aquino, has surprised many with his competence.  But already eyes are turning to the election for his successor in 2016.

"Singapore has long punched above its weight in regional affairs, but can hardly shephard such an unruly flock into a pen most would rather avoid.

"As China presumably understood when it staged its latest provocation in the South China Sea just before an ASEAN summit, it does not even have to try to divide and rule.  It can leave that task to the ASEAN way."

As ASEAN flounders, all hail CHINA!

 我会讲华语,你会吗？

Happy Investing!