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Setting:
Asia in 2000 is in a unique place due to their rapid yet unequal development. The Asian Tigers and Japan have managed to develop modern economies which put them in the realm of the West while much of the rest of Asia still lies in relative poverty and economic stagnation. Generally it is given no respect politically and militarily as the western states are seen as dominant in technology, culture, and economics which has a lot of truth in broader terms. World War 2 led to massive political change and the continued chaos caused by the Vietnam and Korean wars have made the region become the American military's stomping grounds for better and worse. Regardless of nations opinion the US is the dominant political and economic entity in the region despite the fact they give it little credit and attention except when communism is on the table of investment is involved. In recent times the Asian Crisis of 1997 which stemmed from the collapse of Asian currencies due to the deficits and loans they ran in order to sustain growth led to capital flight and a huge currency and market crash in Asia. Despite this setback the bounceback and recovery happened much quicker than expected due to the valuable and appetizing nature of these economies and a large stabilizing package from the IMF. China is the rising power of both Asia and the world as despite the massive social upheaval caused by the great leap forward and cultural revolution they have finally stabilized and embraced a hybrid form of market liberalism with communism. This reevaluation came under the administration of Jian Zemin though there are rumors he is growing tired and may step down soon, ending an era. In India the BJP party is fully in power and seeks to open up their largely untapped markets to the west and undergo a mass reform to their shockingly low literacy rate and poverty. Japan struggles to regain their economic position after the Japanese asset price bubble which felled the seemingly unstoppable economic juggernaut. Change is something no nation, leader, or individual may avoid and it is coming to Asia. This is a time of crossroads and decisions for the leaders of these nations as they must navigate the pitfalls of economic growth and the ambition of old and new powers alike.
Groups and Factions:
This is an organization which seeks to act as a safeguard to international monetary systems by creating a shared pool of capital which can be used to stimulate development, provide beneficial capital flow to developing markets, and stabilize market collapses when they arise to stop it from spreading. In the context of Asia they have been heavily involved in loaning governments capital for growth as well as providing a massive stabilization package during the recent 1997 Asia Crisis. For many of the developing countries in this region they are one of the few sources of foreign capital though this does come with a lot of heavy strings.
Shanghai Five/Shanghai Cooperation Organization:
At the start date in 2000 the Shanghai 5 are the countries which signed a treaty committing the members to mutual security cooperation, primarily focused on radical terrorism and seperatism.Over time it would expand its scope operations into the SCO and include many new states which took on a much more political and economic focus. This group is the most powerful in terms of cooperation and focus for the larger Asian economies and is incredibly powerful for sharing policy goals and being a part of decision making.
Five Power Defence Arrangements:
A series of bilateral agreements from 1971 that provides defensive pacts between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. It dictates that the signatories are to consult each other in the case of a threath or armed conflict. It is the basis for Australian and British military placements in the region, such as a Fighter Squadron and some Troop placements.
American Defencive treaties in Asia:
Through a series of Defencive pacts both Bilateral and Unilateral The Unided States America in the year of 2000 has defencive pacts with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Tailand. As well as de facto support to Taiwan.
South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore are known as tiger economies due to their unique meteoric rise in economic power and GDP/C through their following of Japan's post war Miracle. The reason for their success is primarily due to their special relationship with the US and to a lesser degree the UK as they were more capable of negotiating spending deals from their governments and incentivising international investments and capital inflow. Their economies are all export based and were build off of deficit spending and loans which have resulted in them being unequally economically and politically powerful in Asia. During the 1997 Asia crisis they, like all of Asia, had a massive 50% ish loss in currency power and stock value but have recovered much quicker.
In this time what became the BRICS membership agreement is only the BRIC as South Africa has not joined. It is not a primarily Asian focused entity but many of its members are in the region and as such will be heavily involved with this organization in its attempts to give the developing economies of the world a forum and place outside the influence of the west to make decisions and provide mutual aid. It is not as specifically relevant to Asia as the SCO but in many ways is more important in broader international issues
The United Nations is the world's primary international governmental organization and its prestige and legitimacy as acting as the world's forum for discussion and cooperation is without question. They oversee a number of organs which are involved in anything from health standards to famine relief. Their meetings include all of the recognized international states as well as the security council which has broad, centralized powers at least in the context of the UN. Asia only has two permanent members in Russia and China.
What's my role in this: You as a roleplayer will take the reigns of a nation in Asia or heavily involved in the region. These games are about stories and developing an interesting history unlike our own. There are so many things that can be done politically and economically with the region a powder keg in terms of so many issues you will only be limited by your creativity and research.
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