SHEPHERDVILLE COLLEGE

(FORMERLY JESUS THE LOVING SHEPHERD CHRISTIAN COLLEGE)

Talojongon, Tigaon, Camarines Sur, Philippines
S/y 2021-2022

MODULE ON
CONTEMPORARY
WORLD

TOPIC: A WORLD OF REGIONS

(Asian Regionalism)

PREPARED BY:

LEE ANN O. DACER, LPT

INSTRUCTOR

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This Module uncovers the physical and imaginary divisions of the world in the age of
globalization. In Section 1: The Global Divides: The North and the South, the sharing of
ideas and experiences focuses on the concepts of the Global South and the Third World as
socioeconomic and political labels or categories. Section 2: Asian Regionalism deals with
the integration of the world’s biggest land mass and population.

At the end of the module, the students are expected to:

1. Differentiate between regionalism and globalization;
2. Identify the factors that lead to a greater integration of Asian regions; and
3. Analyze how different Asian states confront the challenges of globalization and
regionalization through regionalism.

Instructions: Complete the organizational chart, by providing at least 7 members that

you know of the given word.

1.

7. 2.

6. 3.

5. 4.

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 China is the home of more than 1.4 billion people based on the 2018 population
projection of the United Nations. In fact, it is becoming one of the economic super giants
of the world. After the Second World War, Japan was able to adapt its policies to the
dictates of the West and consequently incorporated itself to the global economy. On the
other hand, Singapore has become one of the emerging centers of different cultures and
has turned itself into a great cosmopolitan city-state. All these countries belong to the
continent of Asia, a term that originated from the West, particularly from Ancient Greece.

Among all the continents, Asia has the biggest population of at least two-thirds of
the world’s inhabitants. It is most probably because the continent comprises one-third of
the world’s land mass. In terms of economy, emerging and developing Asian countries and
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 5 or the ASEAN 5 (Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand) had an average of 6.3% and 5.1% GDP growth,
respectively, compared to the world average growth of 3.5% as of 2016 (Obiols, 2017). In
2016, China was the world’s leading exporter of goods valued at $1.99 trillion, followed
by the United States with $1.45 trillion (Dillinger, 2018).
Since the European Union is in its mature state of regionalism, the world is now
focused on Asia. Most countries want to have collaborations with East Asian countries and
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members because economic and
political growth in these regions have started to shape up. As a result, the United States
strategically takes care of its allies in Asia to maintain and further enhance its supply of
raw materials, human technological skills, and even its military force. At the same time,
Europe keeps its strong relationship with Asian countries to expand its growing business

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in the field of medical science and research. it cannot be denied that Asia is gaining
worldwide attention.
What makes Asian nations stronger than ever is the establishment of collaborations
and cooperation based on respect. For one, the ASEAN, as a regional bloc, pays full respect
for sovereignty and independence of its members through consensus and consultation
(Eliassen & Arnadottir, 2012).
In this light, globalization, regionalization, and regionalism are compared. Also,
exposure to the different factors that bring about better homogenization of Asia and how
member-states collectively and separately address the challenges they are facing are
discussed.
The terms regionalization and globalization are both related to integration. As
defined in Module 1, globalization is the expansion and intensification of social relations
and consciousness across world-time and world-space. Regionalization, on the other hand,
is “the growth of societal integration within a region and to the often undirected processes
of social and economic interaction” (Hurrel, 1995). In terms of scope, it is very clear that
globalization is borderless. It happens around the world while regionalization happens only
in a specific geographical region. Social and economic reciprocal actions of regionalization
are undirected because of diversity. This diversity comes in different levels of development
(from the rich Singapore to the poor Laos), politics (from democracy to dictatorship and
everything in between), economics (from free markets to capitalism and more), and
religion (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Shintoism, and more) (Richter & West,
2014).
Commonly confused with regionalization, regionalism refers to regional
concentration of economic flows while regionalization refers to a political process by
economic policy if cooperation and coordination are present among countries (Mansfield
& Wilmer, 1993). Regionalism also pertains to the process of intergovernmental
collaborations between two Or more states (Eliassen & Arnadottir, 2012).
Asian regionalism is a new
concept among the continental
communities. New to cooperation
and collaboration goals, it has the
50-year-old ASEAN group and the
failed East Asia Economic Group
(EAEG). The ASEAN community
is comprised of three pillars—
political security community,
economic community, and socio-
cultural community.
The political security community gives importance to human rights, drugs, foreign
relations, defense, law, and transnational crimes. The association adheres to significant

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roles of monitoring——-economic ministers, finance ministers, central bank governors,
free trade area, investment area, agriculture and forestry, transport ministers,
telecommunications and information technology ministers, science and technology,
energy, minerals, tourism, free trade agreements with dialogue partners, and sectoral bodies
in the arena of economic community. In the socio-cultural community, there is an avenue
for cooperation among the ministers responsible for culture and arts, sports, disaster
management, education, environment, health, information, labor, rural development and
poverty eradication, women, youth, and civil service matters.
ASEAN has also partnered with three East Asian countries—China, Japan, and
South Korea. It is called the ASEAN +3. Its goal is to address the 1997 Asian financial
crisis and help each other cope with the crisis. In this context, ASEAN has concretized
regionalism in the Asian region.
Similar to the
goal of ASEAN in
achieving greater
integration within the
region, other countries
form groups for various
reasons. The North
American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA),
a free trade pact
between Canada and
the United States (now
including Mexico), was created to help reduce trading costs, increase business investment,
and help North America be more competitive in the global marketplace (NAFTA, 2018).
On the other hand, the European Union (EU) is a political and economic established
to ensure free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the EU's single
market (EU, 2018a).
Moreover, there are some aspects that led to a greater Asian integration. First,
integration has been market-driven. Within Asia, there are a variety of systems, institutions,
procedures, social relations, and infrastructures that are put into place for countries to
engage in exchange. Emerging and developing economies in Japan, China, South Korea,
and other Asian countries get the labor services of Filipino skilled workers. Southeast
Asians market their goods within the region. Thailand exports its grocery products to 24-
hour convenience stores. Vietnam and Indonesia sell their bags and clothing to the region.
It was only in recent years that teamwork among Asian governments has been exerted,
though with a certain distance.
Second, formal institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were
established. Conceived in the 1960s, ADB promotes social and economic development in

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Asia. Composed of 67 members, 48 of which are from the Asia-Pacific region, the financial
institution aids its members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants,
and equity investments. Initially, ADB focused its assistance on food production and rural
development to serve a predominantly agricultural region.
Third, economic grants and overseas development assistance are made available
by better Asian economies. For example, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) aims to work on human security and quality growth. The agency targets to promote
international cooperation and the development of the Japanese and global economy by
supporting the socio-economic development, recovery, or economic stability of developing
regions.
Fourth, production networks have expanded. Economies are mainly on
comparative advantage through the regional division of labor. The Philippines’ major
exports are electronic products and copper products to name a few. Indonesia sells palm
oil, rubber, and natural gas within the region. South Korea produces machinery products
and motor vehicles.
Fifth, cooperation among the ASEAN and East Asian countries ensued the ASEAN
+3 Financial Ministers’ Process that established two economic structures—the Chiang Mai
Initiative and the Asian Bond Markets Initiative. The process aims to strengthen policy
dialogue, coordination, and collaboration on common financial, monetary, and fiscal
issues.
Last, if EU is rules-based, ASEAN follows a consensus rule as an approach to
decision making. This process prevents collision of cultural beliefs and economic policies
that are understandably not easy to unite because of the region's diversity of archipelagic
lives.
In facing the challenges brought about by globalization, Asian countries have
responded with regional alternatives as big group, small group, and local communities,
As a big group, Asian
countries established their own
Asian Development Bank
(ADB) that is more focused on
Asia and the Pacific as a
reaction to global economic
integration. Japan, the
forerunner of the institution,
believes that investments can
be a factor to social
development. Consequently,
Japan is a major contributor to
ADB. Asian nations work in

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the form of loans, grants, and information sharing on topics such ag terrorism and regional
security.
The establishment of the ASEAN is also another initial reaction to globalization. It
fosters the spirit of regionalism and oneness of Asian nations. As a group, it sets out in the
ASEAN Declaration the following aims and purposes:
1) to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region.
2) to promote regional peace and stability.
3) to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest.
4) to provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities.
5) to collaborate more effectively for the greater utilization of their agriculture and
industries.
6) to expand trade, improve their transportation and communications facilities, and raise
the living standards of their people.
7) to promote Southeast Asian Studies.
8) to maintain close and beneficial cooperation.
More so, Asian countries respond to globalization as a small group. Asian
regionalism lacks institutions and bureaucratic bodies to serve the region unlike the
European Union model of single market in goods and services. As a result, individual
countries do bilateral or multilateral
agreements. For example, the Philippines has
standing bilateral agreements with China in
trade, defense, infrastructure, transnational
crimes, tourism, education, health, and many
others. I n fact, in the recent visit of current
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to
China, Chinese leaders expressed their
support for the president's campaign against
illegal drugs and terrorism, among others.
Another reaction comes from China, India, and Japan as important regional players.
They initiate concrete dialogue in formulating visions, shared goals, and roadmaps for
regional cooperation in Asia.
Reaction to globalization (and the West) also gave rise to terror groups, like the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which has spread to the Muslim communities in
Southern Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. To combat global terrorism, these countries
made use of their available resources to minimize and ultimately stop the effects on
civilian-victims such as displacement and suffering. More so, they reached military
multilateral agreements to address this common problem. In 2017, the Philippines,

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Indonesia, and Malaysia had a trilateral security meeting wherein they agreed that they
need to conduct joint navy patrols within their boundaries to prevent the entry and exit of
the terror group (Antiporta, 2017).
Other reactions to globalization came in the form of disengagement from
globalization that transpired locally. Santi Suk village in Thailand created its own currency,
called the bia, that was regulated by a central bank in a village. This homemade currency
can only be used in participating villages, and cannot be exchanged for Thailand's baht.

This trend is a manifestation of self-sufficiency movements that emerged after the

Asian financial crisis of 1997. Other forms of disengagement appeared in the formation of
self-sufficiency groups, community-owned rice mills, and cooperative shops; the gathering
of traditional herbal practitioners, and the preference for local products (Kimura, 2014).

To conclude, globalization and regionalization are the same for they refer to
integration. Their difference lies on the scope. Globalization is worldwide, while
regionalization focuses on a specific geographical region. As a response to world
homogenization and division, regionalism that comes in various forms of regional
alternatives to globalization spawned within and among regions in Asia. Asian
integration did not happen based only on one historical event for there were different
factors that led to this alliance.

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Instructions: Complete the table below by citing how the Philippines reacts to regional
and global challenges listed below.

1. International terrorism a.

b.

c.

2. China’s Revival of the Silk a.

Road
b.

c.

3. International Monetary Fund a.

(IMF)
b.

c.

4. Asia-Pacific Economic a.
Cooperation (APEC)
b.

c.

5. Asian Development Bank a.

(ADB)
b.

c.

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Instructions: Identify two strengths of the Philippines that may contribute to a greater
integration among countries in the Asian region. Explain.
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References:
The Contemporary World, Tumuroh C. Brazalote & Ryan M. Leonardo, Published in 2019
by C& E Publishing, Inc.
Dacles, Darwin, Don M. & Maslang, Kenneth L. (2018), the Contemporary World.
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya: SMU Publishing House
Haywood, A. Politics. London: Palgrave Mcmillan. 2012.
The-Contemporary-World.pdf (ched.gov.ph)

Images:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123128312320458913

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/14/21/rodrigo-duterte-warning-china-kill-me-ships-west-
philippine-sea

https://twitter.com/adb_hq/status/831352286668587008

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