Abstract
A plethora of economic, diplomatic, cultural, and other highly pragmatic linkages are finally making the long-predicted 'Asianization' of Asia a reality. As this paper will demonstrate, the powerful and multidimensional connections that are being forged by the very eastern and western extremities of the continent are poised to become a central pillar of this process. Given time, this will finally lead to the emergence of meaningful bilateral ties between non-Western poles of the international system, involving states that up until recently had been considered as peripheral to the global economy and dependent on the advanced capitalist countries for their trade and investment. Most notably, an important new relationship is developing between the six monarchies of the Persian Gulf and the three most advanced economies of Pacific Asia – Japan, China, and South Korea. With little shared modern economic history, with enormous political and socio-economic disparities, and separated by great geographical distances, the rapidly tightening economic interdependence between the two regions is a recent phenomenon that deserves considerable attention. What began as a simple, late twentieth century marriage of convenience based on hydrocarbon imports and exports has now evolved into a comprehensive, long-term mutual commitment that will not only continue to capitalize on the Gulf’s rich energy resources and Pacific Asia’s massive energy needs, but will also seek to develop strong non-hydrocarbon bilateral trade, will facilitate sizeable sovereign wealth investments in both directions, and will provide lucrative opportunities for experienced Pacific Asian construction companies, their technologies, and – in China’s case - its vast labour force.
Although this increasingly extensive relationship does not yet encompass the Gulf’s military security arrangements - which remain exclusively with the United States, Britain, and France - and although few serious attempts have been made by either side to replace or balance these with new Pacific Asian alliances, this may change soon. Meanwhile, there is compelling evidence that the two regions are seeking to strengthen their other non-economic ties. An abundance of state-level visits, often at much higher levels than with Western powers, are undoubtedly binding these great trade partners ever closer. Moreover, with a number of future collaborations including ‘hydrocarbon safekeeping’, civilian nuclear power plants, and the building of a twenty-first century ‘Silk Road,’ the trajectory of interdependence will continue to accelerate.
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