PERSPECTIVES 2021

To answer the question of whether East Asian regionalism is emerging within the East Asian region is not an easy feat. The Northeast Asian countries (Japan, South Korea and China) have their own conflicts and rivalry that may slow down the regionalization. This is apparent in the competition between Japan and China economically in which both countries are main competitors in the regional market. Japan is increasing its emphasis on EPA whereas China is expanding its BRI. Japan as the central player in the region is being contested by China's booming economy. They are competing as well as working together. It has become a dynamic and delicate relationship between these two countries and the effects spill over to the rest ASEAN countries as well. How these two countries act in the regional level will determine the smoothness of regionalization as they are the top trading partners for ASEAN.

In my opinion, I don’t think East Asian Regionalism will emerge in the near future. Although China’s economic power and influence are increasing, China cannot give East Asian countries full confidence. Take Japan as an example, as one of the most important trade partner as China, Japan has more welcome by Southeast Asian countries, because the strategic threat pose by Japan is significantly smaller. It is worth noting that the competitive relationship among Japan, South Korea and China. Expanding EPA rule by Japan and China’s BRI make the economic competition between Japan and China stronger. South Korea-Japan trade dispute in 2019 also hurt the regional economic development. Therefore, they dynamic relationship among these three countries play a decisive role in the regionalization in East Asia. Moreover, the involvement of outside region forces are major obstacles to regionalization. The distrust of China has rationalized the United States entry into the region to provide regional security. For example, Singapore provided maintenance service for the US Navy ships; Indonesia received military training form the US; Malaysia and Vietnam also join joint military exercise with the US force. Hence, It is difficult to form a regionalization without the consensus of maximizing common interest among East Asian region, and the existence of conflicts and external factors.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal Bin Mohd Huda

Centre For History, Politics And International Affairs,

Faculty Of Social And Humanities,

The National University Of Malaysia

The strength of this publication lies in its comprehensive analysis of ‘hybrid capitalism’ resulting from the increasingly complex interactions among three forms of Chinese capitalism: (i) neoliberal capitalism, (ii) flexible capitalism, and (iii) Confucian capitalism. Neoliberal capitalism refers to large-scale Chinese businesses operating in AEC countries, flexible capitalism is broadly generalized to small and medium-scale transnational Chinese business in all AEC countries whereas Confucian capitalism only refers to small-scale overland Chinese businesses in Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The author argues that state-led Chinese capitalism and local Chinese capitalism have significantly increased the trade and investment between China and ASEAN. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that the impacts of state-led Chinese capitalism towards large Chinese’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) and large-scale local ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs are different from small and medium-enterprise (SME) owned by local Chinese ethnic.

Due to the fear of losing to China’s economic wave, ASEAN political elites have chosen to form a more integrated market with China to increase exports and attractiveness of their market to foreign investors. Therefore, state-led Chinese capitalism have benefitted Chinese’s SOEs and large-scale local ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs through megaprojects, concessions, and join ventures. The case studies from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand unveil that the ethnic Chinese Multinational Corporations (MNC) in the host countries act as ‘connectors and bridges’ between the host countries with China because Chinese investors are directly linked and benefitted from Chinese government’s ‘going-out’ policy and Belt and Road Initiatives. In contrast, the same state-led Chinese capitalism has not generated an equally positive impacts on small and medium-scale enterprises as megaprojects have led to an increasing flow of ‘overland’ Chinese migrants into the region, especially to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV countries). The inflow of ‘overland’ new transnational Chinese diaspora has challenged the survival and adaptability of long-established local Chinese SMEs in the CLMV countries. Local Chinese SMEs which produce similar goods to Chinese imports are vulnerable to open competition due to limited capital and technology transfer. This is owing to the fact that these local SMEs in Myanmar and Laos rely on family networks for accumulation of financial and social capital. To a certain extent, the new transnational Chinese diaspora is also affected by the increasingly competitive business environment although they are more technology-oriented and have closer links with Chinese governments.

The author also presents a stimulating analysis of the increasing China-US tension as falling into as Thucydides trap when a rising power (China) is challenging the established hegemon (the US) in shaping the regional and global order. The main concern for ASEAN is whether the increasing tension will lead to more cooperation or competition as state-led Chinese capitalism has been institutionalized through One Belt One Road leading to a powerful centralized Chinese trade network. This trade network will eventually establish a form of transnational Chinese governance which in turn lead to resinicization of regional and global economics through the interactions between state-led Chinese capitalism, transnational Chinese entrepreneurs, local Chinese capitalism and AEC regionalism.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal Bin Mohd Huda

Centre For History, Politics And International Affairs,

Faculty Of Social And Humanities,

The National University Of Malaysia

It's a very interesting video describing the economic (trade and investments) activities, pursues and relationship by the three East Asian giant economy. The South Koreans were seemingly described being assertive, whereas the Japanese was a bit laid back. China on the other hand was perceived as fond towards signing agreement - a modest diplomatic coup. In 2012, when the three countries announced their intent to begin a negotiation on trilateral trade agreement, many doubted the impact of a successful negotiation. As we understood, Japan, China and South Korea, have a complicated rivalry over war history and territorial claims.

Beijing and Tokyo's relationship was not very cordial following a 2012 territorial dispute over Senkakus islands (as Japan claimed) or Diayou (as China claimed) in the East China Sea. Beijing's claimant started when there's evidence relating to oil reserves in the island. Meanwhile Beijing and Seoul was at tensed following Seoul’s agreement to deploy the US-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile system in 2016 which Beijing viewed as a threat to its security. This led to an unofficial boycott of South Korean goods and movies, as well as a steep decline in the number of tourists.

Based on the video, we can clearly see the trade policy strategy of South Korea, Japan, and China. For Korea, it has taken an aggressive and active approach by trying to achieve free trade agreements (FTAs) with not just its main trading partners such as the United States, European Union, and China, but other countries as well. The reason behind the active approach is because Seoul believes that FTAs can lead to increased efficiency among its local producers. Having FTAs will open Korea's market and this will require the local producers to compete with foreign products. It is through competition that the local producers will improve their products.

However, unlike Korea, Japan is very protective of its agricultural market and hesitant to bring in foreign workers. It was due to these two reasons that many other countries especially the developing countries find that Japan's FTA is not appealing. Interestingly, domestic politics can influence greatly the trade policy of a country as shown in the case of Japan with regard to Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The two main political parties in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and Democratic Party of Japan had divided views on TPP and this somehow has hindered the participation of Japan into the TPP.

China has increasingly become crucial for Japan and Korea because it is one of the main trading partners of both countries. The main question is whether China's economy will reform from statism to liberalization because it is argued that if China undertakes economic reforms, it will spur more cooperation with Japan and Korea. However, the video shows that China is hesitant to reform because it favours the existing arrangements and not new arrangements that will liberalize China's economy.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal Bin Mohd Huda

Centre For History, Politics And International Affairs,

Faculty Of Social And Humanities,

The National University Of Malaysia

This book is based on the vast experiences of the author, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Mahathir Mohamad whom served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003, and again from 2018 to 2020. The author’s thoughts and ideology are attributed to his political career spanned over more than 70 years. Mahathir Mohamad, in his writing, described the unforgettable phenomenon underwent by East Asian countries during the 1997 financial crisis. A region that took pride in its economic attainments and was described as being “miracle” during 1970’s to 1990’s unexpectedly came under the attack of currency traders and financial speculators – “From Miracle to Malaise” (pg 51). Can Asian regain its successful momentum growth after the turmoil of the 97 financial crisis? The book examines a new deal on how Asian countries can reinstate after the financial crisis. The author looked at global economic function for the future of global communities as one of the new deal proposed.

The first 2 chapters of the book summarize Asia’s overview before the 97 financial crises and its path towards development and prosperity. East Asian economies experienced remarkable growth, that nobody sees its forthcoming. According to the author, the growth spanned through three decades. No other regions had tremendously transformed their economy in the same manner. The driving factor was said to be the opening of the market or in other word foreign direct investment. Many of the Asian countries offer cheap labour, enticing the foreign investors to open their businesses in Asia. The availability of world investment capital and government regulatory policy has also been the main attraction. The author explicate as in the case of Malaysia, although was not regarded as the tiger of Asia, but has attained a very significant growth period during the time. It was the combination of a successful economic policy and certain cultural changes in relation to work that set the country towards attaining growth. Being appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister in 1976, and later became the Prime Minister of Malaysia in 1981, the author explained among the crucial revamps made during the transformation period was the New Economic Policy (1971) and followed by a renewed New Development Policy (1991). Many years back Malaysia was an agricultural country and there were no manufacturing industries at that time. Malaysia needed to diversify its economy that is more sustainable. Clearly the policies were intended to eradicate poverty and equal wealth distribution. Furthermore, the author illustrated his moves towards a long term goal for Malaysia. The Vision 2020 - calls for the nation to achieve a self-sufficient industrialised nation in all aspects by the year 2020 was then launched.

The Asians economies were flourishing until the 1997 financial crisis came. The author, in chapter 3 and 4, described the situation as shattered and impoverished. The Asians did not see that coming. The author had managed to give repercussion on actions taken by Malaysia at that time. The crisis began in Thailand and then quickly spread to neighbouring economies. It began as a currency crisis when Bangkok abandoned the peg of the country’s currency to U.S. dollar, setting off a series of currency devaluations and massive flights of capital. In the case of Malaysia, despite the currency loss of 40% of its value, which in total GDP terms this amounts to approximately US40 billion yearly, the situation experienced by other neighbouring countries was even bad. Malaysia, under the premiership of the author chooses an orthodox approach to overcome the crisis. Instead of accepting the loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Malaysia pegged the ringgit and opposed capital control measure to shield the currency.

Following the move, the author sees a disheartening criticism made by IMF, which had previously applauded the Asians for their resounding miracle growth, now being held responsible for the depreciation in the value of their currencies. In disagreement, the author argued that if so the policy is wrong and lacking, as claimed by IMF, why would the investors confidently poured in billions for doing business prior to the crisis? Should the IMF predict the financial crisis; they should have send a warning. It is unfair when nobody sees the forthcoming but yet putting the blame discreetly. There was a view saying that the author characterized the financial crisis as a global conspiracy designed to bring down Asian economies particularly portrayed in his criticism towards the American financier George Soros, on his role in the currency devaluations. In this book however, the author explicitly repeated himself that he does not believe there was a conspiracy against Asian economies. From the way he see it, it is about how the global economic system functions, drawbacks and advantages. The author suggested for the points to be further discussed openly, without prejudices. Socially, the author also pointed out that there has been a vigorous debate revolving the Asian values – an ideology on social harmony and respect for authority promoted by the author himself. It was propagated that Asian values contributed to the rapid economic growth in the region. However the financial crisis in the region somehow manifests that Asian values has been disproved. In his arguments, the author first clarifies that Asian values is merely a beliefs shared on a basis of common ground. Having the Asian values does not make the Western values of freedom and human rights bad. The differences do not outweighed the other. It is interesting when the author highlighted the research made by David Hitchcock; in comparing East Asian and American values. The research shows that Asians prefer social harmony and respect for authority whereas the Americans placed more value on the rights of individual. The author finds that the characteristic of Asian values was once embedded in the western culture, but somehow deteriorate after some time.

In the next chapter, the book reveals the Japanese magnificent economic success had shed the region for some lights towards developing a sound economy. Emerging from World War II, Japan has risen to a prominent position in the international economy, becoming the first East Asian nation joining the group of industrialized nation. The author view Japan as an economic heavyweight (pg.82) – Japanese investment for example in production and infrastructure project across the region. Take Malaysia for instance, the Japanese Matsushita Electric’s production alone enables exports to 78 countries, particularly the Middle East. Malaysia has become their overseas base. On another note, the author highlighted the introduction to Look East Policy in the early 1980’s. The objective was to learn from the Japanese best practises in business and management. Despite lacking in the political continuity in Japanese leadership, copying the Japanese work ethic and learning from their Sogoshosha success has undoubtedly helped transform many facets of Malaysian society today. In his book, the author is of the view that in years ahead, it would be a challenge for East Asia to attain the same economic growth as achieved during the pre-crisis era. There are many factors and attributes need to be considered and analysed. The world today is so interlinked that any solution would require global cooperation. There’s a need to re-evaluate the global economic mechanism and financial system.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal Bin Mohd Huda, Hafiza Binti Hasan

Centre For History, Politics And International Affairs,

Faculty Of Social And Humanities,

The National University Of Malaysia

The main argument the book is that the current world order is moving towards the Asian way because Asia is currently growing in every aspects be it economically, socially, and even technologically. The author did not argue that the Asian way will replace the Western world order but instead the Asian way will blend with the Western world order and create a new global order. The author starts by defining the region as consists of 53 countries and the population of 5 billion. The author definition of Asia includes some countries that are controversial to be called as Asian countries such as Russia, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand. In the first chapter, the author puts forward a discussion on the history of the world from the Asian perspective. The reason behind this discussion is because the author felt that the history of Asia has not gained much attention in the Western world and even in the Asian region itself. Student in Asia are more informed on the Western history compared to the history of their own region. The discussion starts with the ancient times of the Mesopotamian civilization up until the Asian encounters with the Western world via colonialism, the reawakening of the East Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea that also known as the developmental states and the current times of Asia with the launching of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by China in 2013. In the following chapter, the author provides lessons or insights regarding the history of Asia that was discussed earlier.

One of the biggest lessons argued by the author is that Asia has played an important role in the past in which the former European colonizers will not become wealthy as they is today if they did not subjugate Asia and therefore, the significance of Asia will continue albeit with a different role from the past. In chapter 3, the author argues that the Asian countries has started to focus more on the region itself and this also includes countries such as Russia, Turkey, and Australia. For example, China has replaced Germany as the Russia’s biggest trade partner and China also has been involved in upgrading the railway links in Russia. Similarly, Turkey has acquired the services of the Chinese companies in building its high-speed and conventional rail lines that was planned to extend into its neighbours, Georgia and Iran. Both of these examples are just a small fraction of many examples provided by the author to illustrate that many countries has tilted towards Asia and forged economic ties with Asian countries to develop their countries. Next, the author shifted the discussion onto the economics side by explaining the potential economic growth within the region through the expansion of trade and the experiences of the Asian countries in managing their economy. In chapter 5, the author provides an overview of the Asians living in the United States and argues that the Asianization of US is underway because of the growing number of Asians as well as increased embracement of Asian culture in terms of food and entertainment such as music and films. In addition, the author also discusses the experiences of the Americans living in Asian countries. Based on the findings, the author suggests that the number of Americans living in Asian countries is increasing due to several reasons such as the easiness of doing businesses and high quality education that can be found in countries like Singapore.

In the subsequent chapter, the author focuses on the relationship between Europe and Asia by claiming that in the past, Europe has perceived US as its major ally and closest partner but the current situation has not remain the same. Europe is now forging closer relationship with Asia and has ignoring US. The best example to illustrate this was when the European countries joined the Chinese-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite receiving oppositions from US. In chapter 7, the author discusses the relationship between Africa and Asia by showing the increasing trade volume between these two regions. Also, Asian countries saw the potential of Africa as a growing regional economy and therefore, some of the Asian countries has undertaken a large-scale investment in the region. For instance, China has given 10 billion dollars in terms of loans and 100 million dollars of investment in order to develop the textiles ad pharmaceuticals industries in Ethiopia. Also, a Chinese-based automotive company, BYD Auto is building up its electric-car production facility in Morocco while at the same time intends to penetrate the African markets. Next, the author discusses briefly regarding the relationship between the Latin American countries and Asian countries by focusing the economic and trade relationship between the two regions. Also, the author discusses the potential benefit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that has changed into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership for both regions. In chapter 9, the main focus is on the politics. The author outlines the political system subscribed by Singapore and China that focuses on technocracy and meritocracy. The practice of technocracy and meritocracy has been working well in both countries and this can be seen through the countries’ impressive economic development. The Singapore and China model proved that a limitless democracy that gives absolute freedom to the citizens is not the only way to achieve economic development and maintain social stability. In fact, the author also argues that the Western political system that upholds unchecked democracy has led to the rightwing populism that threaten the social stability in both US and European countries. In the final chapter, the author concludes that the intra-Asian interaction has increased and due to this Asia as a region is becoming more coherent. The increased interaction among Asian can be observed through the number of intercultural marriages, the number of Asians living in other Asian countries as well as the consumption Asian food and entertainment among the Asians themselves.

Overall, the author managed to give abundant examples, statistics and data to support his claim that Asia is growing and becoming more significant. He also managed to portray attractive figures and visuals to make the reader clear on the issue. However, his discussion only covered the bright side of Asia and did not attempt to discuss any possibilities or events that poses challenges to the region. The author did mention about the major conflicts in Asia such as the Syrian civil war with the involvement of great powers like Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and US, the rivalry between China and Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, the South China Sea disputes, the North Korea’s nuclear programme, and the growing rivalry between US and China in the region. Unfortunately, the author did not provide an assessment on how these conflicts will negatively affect the stability and peace in Asia. In my humble opinion, the author is biased because he downplayed the seriousness of the conflicts by claiming that sometimes conflicts are needed in order to form a more unified Asia as what Europe has experienced after the World War 2 with the emergence of the European Union.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal Bin Mohd Huda, Ahmad Zikri Bin Rosli

Centre For History, Politics And International Affairs,

Faculty Of Social And Humanities,

The National University Of Malaysia

Japan’s Foreign Aid: Old Continuities and New Directions is an edited book that provide readers with rich understanding on Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) extended globally through a comparative analysis. The organization of the book was done systematically as it covers the perception of other donors like the World Bank, United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, United States, Canada and Republic of Korea as well as other recipient countries like Pakistan, China, South and Southeast Asia, Pacific island states and Thailand. The book gathers views and observations of experts from all over the world. Although Japan was central of the discussion, however the book lacks contribution from Japanese expert, neither academic nor field practitioner. The presence of Japanese expert in the discussion is highly crucial as it would be able to balance the negative remarks against the Japan’s ODA that question the philosophy and interest of Japan in giving its economic aid. Credit should be given to the editor for his effort in giving a clear background of Japan’s aid in the introductory chapter. Without it, one will not be able to digest the discussion in the following chapters effectively.

The organization of the chapters that were divided into two different perspectives (donors and recipients) also indicate the dynamic of international aid in general which evolved from dependent to interdependent relationship. It is based upon the consideration that economic disorder in the developing countries breeds political and social unrest and may even lead to international conflict or tension, such that supporting the developing countries' economic and social development and improvement of the popular well-being through economic cooperation is conducive not only to political and social stability in the recipient country but to the easing of tensions in the broader international community.

The analysis was made based on a stereotypical understanding of Japan’s ODA. The common criteria that used to compare Japan with other donor countries are with respect to loan-focused versus grant-focused aid, project versus program orientation, the technical cooperation focused on operating equipment versus teaching primary skills at the grassroots level, and higher versus lower technology intensity. This kind of analysis triggers doubt about whether those simple dichotomies could be the only means to understand Japan’s aid effectiveness and quality. It leads one to presume that Japan has done nothing in order to comply with such international demands as those concerned by the United Nations like the issues of human right, environment and poverty alleviation.

As depicted by the title, the content of the book also leads reader to a perspective that Japan is facing a dilemma whether to stick with its traditional aid philosophy or to comply with international norms. The comparison poses such challenge to Japan. This book is one of many other literatures that include critiques against how Japan’s aid was administered. For example, authors questioned about the Japan preference of tying its aid with Japanese company. For some, such practice could be interpreted as protecting Japan’s own interest without giving flexibility to recipient countries. However, from my point of view, Japan has its own justification to take such move. Untied aid is more favorable for the recipient countries than tied aid because the latter tend to be commercially motivated and promotes the donor's interests by depriving local business of the chance to provide goods and services for aid programs. However, the ratio of untied aid does not always indicate the absence of commercial interest in donor's aid program. For example, the French government provides foreign aid to teach the French language and though this aid is classified as tied aid, but it is not commercial. Beside that, the recipient countries, especially the lease-developed ones, lack local experts in carrying out the infrastructural project assisted by donor countries. It is understandable that Japan is very strict in ensuring the success of its aid through the principle of self-help and request-based. So, commitment and discipline in implementing the project are very essential in Japan’s aid giving practice.

Japan’s over emphasis on the loan aid was also questioned by the authors. Again, here I stand by Japan’s insistence that low grant share do not mean that contributions bring comparatively little benefit to recipient countries. For example, the absolute value of Japan's grant in 1994 was US$8.98 billion, surpassing total ODA by France. Furthermore, recipients tend to waste bilateral grants which they consider “free gifts” while they spend bilateral loans more cautiously. This is consistent with Japan's “self-help” policy. From my point of view, those critiques serve as compelling element for Japan to set a new direction in its foreign aid policy.

The new-directions part of the Japan’s ODA was very well illustrated by the author in the concluding chapter when he clarifies a better and clearer mandate of Japan’s main actor in foreign aid like JICA and JBIC. In my opinion, it is a response to critique that Japan’s aid is too bureaucratic and complicated in nature. The highlight on the appointment of Sadako Ogata as the new JICA chief was impressive as it depicts the reform of Japan’s foreign aid. Critiques on Japan’s ODA can also be found in many other literatures. Despite its negative element, it also indicates the importance of Japan’s aid which always fall under the spotlight of other donor countries. Ironically, despite of all those critiques, Japan is still ranked among the top donor countries in the DAC list.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

It has been established that very little details of the on-goings within the borders of North Korea is known to the world. This hermit country is a well – known police country with powerful capabilities on the military front including having nuclear and missile weaponry. Its leaders are well known internationally as fearless leaders that put the country sovereignty first instead of the welfare of its people. Because of this, the people has been suffering from famine and human rights breaches that in a normal country, should put the leaders to shame. But this is not the case of North Korea.

This book focuses not on the military aspect of North Korea but rather on the humanitarian side of it. The authors conducted 2 surveys among the defectors / refugees in China and South Korea to gauge their perspective of what is happening in North Korea and also to reaffirm some of the assumptions that have been circulating on the condition in that country. The outcome of the research was divided into 3 main parts: economic transformation, legislation enforcements and politics.

Though out the book, the authors managed to show a clear link on how the self-sufficient policy practiced by the country has pushes the people to find new ways to survive including idea of migrating or running to other countries for better life. The failure of this policy has also contributed to the emerging of new type of economy i.e. barter trading and small businesses. It also, sadly, has pushes some to commit crimes such as bribery and stealing not only among the normal people but also by the soldiers. In trying to identified and justified their claims that there is a discrimination of treatment between the favourable class i.e. the upper class and military personnel, and the commoners, the authors could have painted a better picture by explaining the form of differential treatment from the legislation point of view, received between this two (2) classes of people that are found to commit crimes. This would have given readers a better understanding of what the author means by discrimination of treatment.

The authors came up with recommendations in solving the issue of influx of refugees into neighbouring countries. Such recommendations are highly appreciated even if some might sound impossible such as engaging North Korea itself. However, one of the most troublesome recommendation proposed which caught the eye is the idea of allowing the refugees to settle in China through legalization. The main problem with this particular recommendation is the fact that the author forget the concept of sovereignty, social security and foreign relations. As authors rightly highlighted, by opening the gates for North Korean to come in and settle down legally in the country, that would attract more to come and journey in to China. This will develop into more complicated problem for China in two-folds, domestically and bilaterally. Domestically, China needs to assess whether or not its own nationals are willing to accept and comfortable having these North Korean refugees as their own nationals; and whether or not it is willing to provide or allocate a specific land for them to settle down. Arguably that with the large size of land China has, and the fact that in some areas, population are pretty low, it is possible to let refugees to settle there. However, one must remember that this may be a security concern too. Can the refugees integrate with the locals? Once they have settle in, would they be willing to contribute to China economic development? Does China has the resources to provide them with assistance especially during the early period of settlements? And finally, is China willing to provide them with the same rights, privileges and benefits enjoyed by its own nationals?

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

The second part of the recommendation on domestic front that is confusing is when the authors tried to argue that due to the fact that the populace in the northern part of North Korea is sparse, thus there will be a very small possibility that China will be flooded by refugees if it later allows them in. Here the authors missed out on the concept of mobility and the concept of motivation. Oppressed people have high motivations to move given the opportunity. It is a basic human instinct thing. Many previous researches, among others, by Cohen, Kirkpatrick, Robertson and Blackmore has proven that the underline motivation that drives the refugees to fled North Korea in the first place was due to the oppression, famine and eventually for survival. If by moving out of their country of origin means survival, they will move. Having a legal way to move out, that would be an added bonus.

On the bilateral relationship, is China willing to gamble the possibility of severing their ties with Pyongyang. One must keep in mind that Beijing has created and nurtured a tight alliance with Pyongyang for decades and in many instances prefer not to cause any strain on their relationships. Taking into consideration the sensitivity of this topic about North Korean refugees, chances are that if China are to provide some sort of assistance – if not protection, to the refugees, Pyongyang is more than ready to retaliate. One may argue that Beijing should not fear the wrath of Pyongyang as it is North Korea who depends more on China for survival especially form the economic survival and aids. However, one must also remember, China depends greatly towards North Korea to be the buffer between them and the United States on the security front.

The final confusion in the book was the inclusion of a sub-chapter on US policy on North Korean refugees. Throughout the book, the idea was to gauge the condition of within North Korea from the refugees insights. Research was done on refugees in China and South Korea. There was nowhere in the book was United States was thrown in the picture nor related. It does not make much sense to discuss US policy and suddenly proposes initiatives for United States especially at the very end of the book. Even if the intention (assumed to be) is for South Korea’s actions, it should has not be a stand-alone sub chapter. It should had been discussed under the recommendations for South Korea.

Overall, the book is a good guide to understand the what is happening in North Korea from the refugees point of view. However, it seems that the questions posed to the refugees are more like leading question to justify the assumptions pre-assumed by the authors. The fact that the authors have declared that the set of questions given to the refugees in different countries are different or differently worded may also create some sort of questions on its results validity.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

Despite an abundance of books and scholarly articles published on the significance of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in driving the development of the region and managing inter-state relations, this book offers an insider view of the inner workings of ASEAN from the perspective of Marty Natalegawa, Indonesia’s former foreign minister. The author implored whether ASEAN will still matter in the next 50 years given that changes have become a permanent feature in the region. What choices do ASEAN have to stay relevant to its people?

One compelling argument framing the narratives in the book is the concept of ‘dynamic equilibrium’ versus traditional ‘balance of power’. The author gave greater emphasis on how ASEAN should remain central in engineering the region’s diplomatic architecture due to its strategic location in the middle of Indo-Pacific which housed major powers; China, India, Russia, and United States if it does not wish to be side-lined by these power dynamics. These dynamics are defined as how ASEAN member states (AMS) interact, focusing on the countries’ intents and capacities, and changing nature of powers that extends beyond military and macroeconomic capacities, and on the realities that relations between countries can’t be viewed in isolation, but within the context of wider dynamics at play.

The concept of balance or power is pale in comparison to equilibrium as ASEAN now needs to be able to navigate itself as a neutral organization which seeks to dilute any rising powers within and beyond the region. This is where the discussion took a sharp turn as the author suggested that ‘strategic partnership’ rather than ‘strategic adversary’ is the key which will hold the region together, again placing importance on multilateralism built on the basis of commonly agreed principles and norms. However, it is interesting to note that with the dynamics of power taking place, multilateralism has now become a contested idea as countries are leveraging on bilateral diplomatic ties more than multilateral. This brings our attention to the question whether multilateralism is a failing concept or how ASEAN can ensure that multilateralism will prevail in the current power dynamics.

The success stories of ASEAN in binding AMS amidst these dynamics are not one without hiccups. ASEAN centrality and cohesiveness as an association have been through test of time mainly in three aspects: 1) geopolitical shifts and changes as discussed earlier, 2) reawakening of territorial disputes and 3) prevalence of trust deficits among countries in the region. These three challenges will be the pull-push factors for ASEAN to earn its centrality and leadership capacity in the regional architecture. This is where ASEAN prevails as it has fostered a ‘culture of peace’: building strategic trust from trust deficit among the members through conflict-prevention, conflict-management, and conflict resolution norms. The author took pride in this culture with Treaty of Amity and Cooperation at its core, which has prevented open conflicts to take place among the members and extra-regional powers.

Another equally important argument is the much talked about ‘ASEAN Way’ in managing interstate relations. As an extension to discussion on TAC, the author may have over-glorified how the concept of non-interference among AMS and Indonesia’s leadership in ASEAN led to the resolution of Cambodia-Thailand conflict surrounding Prear Vihear Temple in 2011. Again, this ‘spirit’ was being put to test in dealing with Myanmar’s democratic transition. Even though these two events created tensions and revealed a divided fraction within ASEAN, the author stressed that it’s the concept of non-interference in a state internal affair which allowed ASEAN to prove its capacity as net contributor to international peace.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda, Siti Noor Adillah binti Masrol

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

Many scholars have argued that this concept may have led to ASEAN failure to address more alarming issues such as South China Sea maritime disputes, human rights atrocities in Myanmar, and the annual transboundary haze between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. AMS have been reluctant to have their issues ‘multilateralized’ on the basis that each state should exercise sensitivity and not-interfere into another’s domestic matter as they belong to a common ‘family’ which uphold high respect for sovereign rights and boundaries. The author again stressed towards the end that this ‘non-intervention’ is not exclusive to ASEAN alone because it is a generally accepted principle of international affair sanctified in the Charter of the United Nations as well.

In building a resilient ASEAN against extra-regional power interventions and hindering it from becoming a supranational organization like European Union, ASEAN must strive to become a people-centred association. This notion gave birth to three ASEAN Community pillars - political security (APSC), economics (AEC) and social cultural (ASCC). Various frameworks and blueprints were designed to address the political and economic development gaps among AMS, especially between the founding members and CLMV countries. ASEAN adopted the ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together as continuity to ASEAN Community 2015, serving as the foundation of attaining the three aforementioned pillars with the aspiration of becoming a seamlessly connected ASEAN community. Although deliberate discussion was made on the economic landscape and materials progress of the people, caution was given on the significance of democracy, human rights, and good governance as well as promoting shared values as the critical points in making ASEAN relevant to its people. Despite this, the discussion was heavily dominated by state-to-state level of interactions, less attention was given on people-to-people exchanges which was claimed to be at the heart of ASEAN. This may very well signal that ASEAN has not reached its people yet, the working of ASEAN is pretty much at the governmental level.

Among the three pillars, the progress on APSC is the most difficult to gauge as it deals with a hardly quantifiable concept: identity formation. The indicators of collective identity under APSC are commitment to multilateralism, development of security cooperation, and the constitution of boundaries and membership. Among the hurdles to identity formation are the contestation in SCS maritime disputes, SEA countries’ tendency to prioritize their own national interest over ASEAN goals and AMS domestic problem, which complicate the political-security integration although cooperation under ARF has been increasing. In contrary, AEC integration has made great progress but again, political resistance and poor institutional infrastructure has dampened or delayed integrating the diverse economies in Southeast Asia into a single market and production base, with freer movement of trade, investment, capital and skilled labour. With regards to ASCC, a people-centered ASEAN is still far from attainable as it requires people themselves (Civil Society Organization and business people) to drive ASEAN integration and possess the sense of ownership over ASEAN. As noted earlier, ASEAN is still dominated by government-to-government cooperation/interaction. CSO is still seen as outsiders when it comes to policy-making processes within ASEAN and awareness of ASEAN among its citizens is still low.

Overall, this is a stimulating book which presented the readers with numerous thought-provoking questions on the inner workings of ASEAN through its ability of demonstrating deft diplomacy in its dealings. As the author pointed out at the end, there is still much work to be done and ASEAN must not be illusion by the paradox of ‘plenty’ as indices of achievements. However, readers should read this book with a grain of salt given that the author did not frame his writing using any theoretical lens, the discussions were heavily influenced by non-zero sum game and might sound too optimistic.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda, Siti Noor Adillah binti Masrol

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

Based on the video recording entitled International Strategy and Diplomacy by the speaker Kerry M. Kartchner, a senior advisor for strategic communications in the Department of International Security and Nonproliferation at the U.S. Department of State. Kartchner shared his experiences of joining the State Department and tips and aspects that students may find useful in writing the narrative personal statement in the application process of joining the State Department, which to begin with an internship position.

According to the U.S. Embassy around the world, citizens of the host country that are locally used to be named "Foreign Nationals" of the U.S. Later, it was changed to "Locally Engaged Staff" (L.E.S) This term has been commonly used in diplomatic work by many other embassies. Some name it "Locally Employed Staff." Kartchner also shared the do's and don'ts in writing the personal statement. Some of don'ts include not sharing an extensive medical background of applicants that will not jeopardize the nature of diplomatic work. While it is helpful to share some abroad perspectives of life experiences, it is unnecessary to share a list of travel log countries that have been visited but rather sharing the significant impact the experiences have provided would be sufficient. Applicants reviewers are more interested in looking at the candidates' competencies in bringing about the impact the government can make in foreign relations, this shall include the classes that have been enrolled relating to international relations. It is also important to specify the intended bureaus that candidates are aiming for, which, to my understanding within the context of my country, would be the intended ministries to perform duties in. Kartchner also stressed out the importance of networking with the right individuals to obtain relevant insights to be working in foreign relations. Social media has also been the centre of attention these days as diplomacy recognizes the importance of reaching out to the public through social media platforms. I find this talk to be very beneficial to be applied in the process of writing any application in diplomatic posts. The tips shared are certainly applicable within the context of my personal future endeavours.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

Diplomacy as an act of conducting negotiations between two persons or two nations is crucial in maintaining international affairs. One of the functions of diplomacy includes preventing war and violence and bolstering relations between nations. In that regard, if diplomacy did not exist much of the world’s affairs would be abolished, international organisations would not exist, and the world would be at a constant state of war. Diplomacy has many functions which make it an essential element of any peaceful and efficient change. The main functions include representing a state’s interests and conducting negotiations designed to identify common interests, areas of disagreement between parties for achieving the states goals and avoiding conflict. A key component of diplomacy is negotiations in order to find a common interest. The advantages obtainable from the cooperative pursuit of common interests could prevent violence from being employed to settle the remainder of the disputes over conflicting ones.

Furthermore, international diplomacy continues to be a vital tool used in resolving conflicts and in saying this there are different forms of conflict resolution depending on the situation at hand and the ideal method of conflict resolution acceptable to both parties. On the other hand, with regards to interference in conflicts through international diplomacy it often rewards actors by offering them various respites especially from an economic point of view and imposes penalties such as embargoes on trade amongst others. Of which the following are illustrations of the use of diplomatic means by international diplomacy: International arbitration; détente; embargo; neutrality; shuttle diplomacy; secret diplomacy amongst others.

In the video, Kerry Kartchner, illustrates his various roles in the United States (US) Department of State, which include being responsible for negotiating the implementation of treaties and holding a policy making and advisory position. He describes the negotiation and implementation of a treaty related to inspections and missile defence with Russia. This is significant and ties in with how diplomacy is an efficient tool in resolving conflicts as it outlines the importance of diplomacy as an instrument in international relations that facilitates such negotiations aimed at establishing a settlement between parties or states.

The speaker provided some worthwhile insights to those who intend to join the foreign service by emphasising what is key to be included in a resume. He mentioned good concise grammar, relevant experiences to be included briefly and a consistent thought-out pattern of one’s experience. This information is very vital for prospective foreign service officers since it is rare to be informed in such detail by someone within the system. The mentioning of the role of social media by the speaker, was another crucial factor as it demonstrated the significance of social media in international relations in the current digital age. The need for prospective foreign service officers to be well vested in social media remains a necessity as technological advancement has transformed diplomatic engagement. In that regard, diplomatic engagement is no longer limited through bilateral talks and discussions but now encompasses social media platforms for negotiation and other diplomatic pursuits.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

China’s aggression to “claim” South China Sea is no longer a new issue and it has causing concerns to the affected countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei. It is not a new strategy either for China to consolidate its power and control over the region as they have been using their “salami-slicing” strategy for quite some time already especially when they are known to build military bases in a few islands already and it has threatened the sovereignty of nearby countries especially to Japan and Republic of Korea (ROK). According to Haddick (2012), China aims to gradually accumulate its salami-slicing strategy, “through small but persistent acts, evidence of China’s enduring presence in its claimed territory, with the intention of having that claim smudge out the economic rights granted by UNCLOS and perhaps even the right of ships and aircraft to transit what are now considered to be global commons. With new “facts on the ground” slowly but cumulatively established, China would hope to establish de facto and de jure settlements of its claims.” Dutta (2017) explained about China’s strategy pattern whereby “China first stakes claim on a territory and keeps repeating its claim at all platforms and on all possible occasions. It launches a propaganda disputing the claim of the other party to such an extent that the territory in question is recognised as a dispute between China and the other country. In resolving the dispute, China uses its military and diplomatic might to gain a part of it.” China previously used the strategy in conquering Xinjiang, Tibet and Aksai-Chin and due its success, now they are using the same strategy to claim the South China Sea.

China has claimed a huge area of South China Sea even when the islands they are claiming is not even closed to China. Paracel Islands are a recent success of China’s strategy as they have militarized the islands to take it from Vietnam. Paracel Islands have been a territorial dispute between China, Taiwan and Vietnam and these islands are located in the South China Sea’s region which “belong” to China, China has exerted its military and power in conquering the islands which is now named as Xisha Islands, a territory under Hainan Province. Despite China has ousted Vietnam since 1974, they are still fortifying its claim to the islands by “putting military garrisons on them and building an airfield and artificial harbor” on Woody Island, the largest island in the area. Besides, it is also reported that in 2019, “China deployed J-10 fighter jets to the island, a signal to the region that “it is their territory and they can put military aircraft there whenever they want,” said Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center”. As China has successfully claimed Paracel Islands with a few hiccups with the Vietnamese even to this date, they will still use the same strategy in claiming other islands within South China Sea region even if they have to make use of their superior military and power to occupy those islands forcefully.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

The Role of Other States in Encountering China’s Strategy

When China sent a survey ship, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, along with at least seven Chinese coastguard vessels to start a survey at a point about 352 km off the coasts of Brunei and Malaysia in April this year, the area is actually within Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The next day, the ship began to tail an exploration ship owned by Petronas, about 324 km from the Malaysian Coast. These actions had prompted the U.S. and Australia to send their ships to deter China’s Haiyang Dizhi 8 from the territory. The U.S. sent “small flotilla of combat vessels, including an amphibious assault ship, the USS America, the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill and guided-missile destroyer USS Barry” while Australia sent HMAS Parramatta. Only a few days, all ships began to return to their bases as China’s plan was thwarted by the presence of the U.S. and Australia’s naval ships in the area. Adam has concluded that Malaysia used ‘quiet response’ which is considered as a unique strategic logic in handling this matter whereby “Malaysia deployed just one coastguard vessel to this latest standoff, while the US and Australia deployed a joint flotilla of four modern combat ships. The USS America can carry up to 20 F-35B Lightning II stealth multirole combat aircraft, multiplying this small flotilla’s offensive power. While Malaysia does not have formal defence pacts with the US or Australia, it is still able to garner their assistance in times of need.”

This has shown that countries like the U.S. and Australia have shown their camaraderie and assistance in helping small countries around South China Sea in deterring China’s salami-slicing strategy in the area. If this assistance is provided every time China’s military invaded the disputed islands within the water region claims by other countries, it will definitely help to reduce China’s aggression and these countries must work together among the small countries, alongside with big power’s assistance to deter China’s power. Ivy and Hoo (2020) also suggested that the U.S. and its allies have to play their roles in strategizing approaches in Southeast Asian countries by “reengaging with ASEAN-led mechanisms” whereby it is crucial for “outreach to the region to remain consistent, and for messaging to focus on openness and inclusivity rather than merely pushing the narrative war against China.” In addition to that, they must “learn to first diffuse tensions with China at the global level, so as not to make small states in Southeast Asia feel trapped in a new Cold War. They must do more to help strengthen the capabilities of Southeast Asian maritime forces.”

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

In the case of Asia, While the giant economies of China and India get the most attention, the countries of Southeast Asia are contributing to that growth as well. PwC’s forecast sees Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia moving into the world’s 25 biggest economies, with Indonesia rising to number four globally, by 2050. Dealing with trade tension, small countries must be agile and have more multilateral relationship. It is a very unfair wold for small countries, developing economies would like to see that issues to be addressed in a multilateral way, where they can participate.

In what situations can trade wars lead some of the smaller national economies to an economic crisis?

Trade tension is a double edge sword, smaller economies could both gain or lose while being in between the fights of to giants. International trade is of critical importance to many developing countries. Export earnings are by far the most important source of external revenues for developing countries, followed by foreign direct investments. Developing nations are the ones that are impacted by big nations “selfish” trade policies. For example when the US revoked WTO subsidy preferences for some developing nations. Although the the action was taken by Trump to express his frustration towards big economies who declared themselves as developing economies like China and India, this decision however impacted other countries in the subsidy list such as Costa Rica, Georgia, Malaysia etc.

Smaller national economies related to small domestic markets, limited local production and export, high dependence on foreign markets, insufficient local resources, weakness in public and private sector capacities and it is hard for them to manage cross-border capital flows and attracting investment. Due to their narrowed revenue generation and mostly agriculture is backbone of many of small development enterprises, thus, smaller economies obviously affected in trade war and are vulnerable to economic crisis. Smaller economies earnings relied on export of raw materials while imported the added value products with high prices. such as they can export bars of golds and import gold jewels in return. Therefore, they exported little in price rather than what they received due to the number of factors previous mentioned. Also, smaller national economies state budget based on foreign donors/giants’ countries. Thus, they sustained for donors’ budget assistances, once donors cut off their assistance mostly of small economies may face economic crisis because they do not have enough money to run their countries.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

Economic integration has both positive and negative impacts on the labour market. A working paper series by ILO (2014) reported that almost half of workforce in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are made up by low-skilled or unskilled labour ranging from 48% to 52%. Most of them are workers in textile industries and agriculture. In the case of RCEP scenario, the impacts on wage varied between economies. For instance, In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the professionals gain the most in all scenarios, and for semi-skilled labour, clerks do the best in all scenarios except the AEC, in which craft workers do the best. The wage gains across sectors depend on the country’s specific export and services.

1.What are the major barriers and challenges in the achievement of the economic integration and cooperation in ASEAN?

In the light of ASEAN commitment for success of AEC project, things like non- tariff barriers (NTBs) and internal conflict continue to persist, which makes it a challenge for ASEAN member economic integration/cooperation to be achieve. Although, the CEPT Agreement required ASEAN to eliminate its non-tariff barriers, only little progress has been made. additionally, on the issue of internal conflict among ASEAN members. Internal conflict itself could cause the members to focus more on their state problem which reduce commitment towards regional integration. A full economic integration/cooperation will require all members to work together, but since ASEAN itself stick to its non- interference policy, this will affect them in the long run.

2. ASEAN has the end goal to the economic and financial integration in year 2015 and it is very interesting to analyze the EU-style economic integration, which has been accepted as a model of regional integration. What lessons can ASEAN learn/focus from EU's experience of economic integration and cooperation?

The most important measures that ASEAN can focus is by reduce income and development gap between its members, especially CLMV countries. We can here from the EU experience of development divergence between its members in 1990s, however, this gap effectively reduced by implementation of structural funds. Although, I must admit that ASEAN do tried to reduce its development gap through IAI (Initiatives for ASEAN Integration) in 2000, nonetheless, due to lack of funds for technical support this plan failed. But not to be mention on the political will of its member that make this problem worst, their inability to put strategies and plan into execution need to be improve for long term effect.

3. In what ways can the developing countries such as Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand be positioned to maximise the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)?

In this case, I will say through cooperation and partnership from all sectors, by promoting the roles of the community, civil society, and public sectors in contributing towards sustainability and stability of a countries. For example, in Malaysia who has execute a strategy which they call it as National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS), a strategy that brings together ministries, agencies, all levels of government and private sector to address a wide range of economic and social issues. With this strategy, Malaysia has saved 3.5 billion between 2009 and 2016, with these saving could be contributed to other development needs (e.g. Education, economy, etc)

4. Globalization processes were determined by various factors, dominated by economic, financial, political and technological factors. what about the other perspective? Such as education and culture. In what direction do you think globalization processes should follow in the future? (In the context of ASEAN Countries)

In my point of view, since ASEAN countries itself comes from developing countries, I’m leaning more towards education. Since economic globalisation interconnect states through trade and exchange of resources, educational globalisation could interconnect the society through various educational programmes (e.g global excess to school). These educational programmes will contribute to a diverse learning experience you that could prepare student towards multinational leadership roles. Good education will serve global stability and development towards multicultural awareness at a young age. In the context of ASEAN countries, the opportunities of focusing towards education will allows countries in ASEAN to obtain global sharing of knowledge and skills that are necessary for multiple development at different level which also could contributes to economic growth.

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA

Most countries use soft power as their foreign policy tactic to influence other states to achieve its national interests. What is soft power capability and how does it impact foreign policy?

Soft power capability is a form of noncoercive power that goes beyond using military power to get others to do what they otherwise would not do. Joseph Nye who came up with the concept of soft power, argues that co-optation through the use of attraction and legitimacy as tools to influence others makes it possible to get many desired outcomes without much forceful arm-twisting. According to Nye, in the case of the United States (US) soft power, is found in three (3) categories cultural, ideological, and institutional, of which in light of these areas the world would want to be like the US. This will in turn assist the US to shape the world (Li 2018). The basis of US soft power encompasses liberal democratic politics, free market economics and fundamental values such as human rights (liberalism).

In the era of global transition, traditional hard power will remain as a means of reassurance against idiosyncratic threats. However, in dealing with economic and transnational issues soft power and its ability to influence through attraction rather than coercion remains important in foreign policy. In an era of complex multilateral cooperation, the orientation towards achieving global objectives across traditional, cultural, and political boundaries, will become increasingly central in world affairs of which soft power will be a key vehicle for eliciting such cooperation.

According to Chas Freeman in his speech on diplomacy as strategy, with regards to the US foreign policy as we enter a new phase in history, it remains a key challenge for the country to foster an international order that is conducive to the liberty and pursuit of happiness which is best served by a purposeful and peaceful environment. In order to nurture such an environment a diplomatic strategy and coalition building that is more than purely military is needed, since other nations military capabilities are growing as much as the US. The speaker suggested that there is need for the restoration of precision to the US diplomatic terminology, reasoning procedures and policies. Freeman suggested that there is need to rediscover diplomacy as a strategy and focus should be in the development of a diplomatic doctrine and a teachable body of interrelated operational concepts. This would allow the US to use all elements of its power to influence the behaviour of other states and people through other options short of war (soft power).

Dr. Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Centre for History, Politics and International Affairs,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities,

National University of Malaysia,

43600 Bangi, Selangor

MALAYSIA