Asia Is Not One

Author(s): AMITAV ACHARYA

Source: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 69, No. 4 (NOVEMBER 2010), pp. 1001-1013
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
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The Journalof AsianStudiesVol. 69, No. 4 (November)2010: 1001-1013.

1810002871
The AssociationforAsianStudies,Inc., 2010 doi:10.1017/S002191

Asia Is Not One

AMITAVACHARYA

is not "one,"and thereis no singularidea of Asia. Asia is of multiple

(althoughnot alwaysmutuallyexclusive)conceptions,some drawingon
materialforces,such as economic growth,interdependence,and physical
such as civilizational
power,and othershavingideationalfoundations,
linkages
and normativeaspirations.Some of these varied conceptionsof Asia have
shaped in meaningful
waysthe destiniesof its statesand peoples. Moreover,
have
formsof regionalism,
which,in turn,has
they
underpinneddifferent
ensured that Asia, despite its fuzzinessand incoherence,has remaineda
durable,ifessentially
contested,notion.
Beforeproceedingfurther,
let me brieflycommenton the conceptsof
and
thethreecentralpillarsofanymeaningregion,regionalization, regionalism,
fuldiscussionofthecontemporary
idea ofAsia.First,ourunderstanding
ofwhat
makesa regionhas undergonea majorchange.Thereis a growingagreementin
theliterature
that(1) regionsare notjust materialconstructs
but also ideational
- theyare
are
not
a
or
but
are
ones; (2) regions
given fixed,
sociallyconstructed
made and remadethroughpolitical,economic,social,and culturalinteractions;
and (3) just likenationsstates,regionsmayriseand wither.1
between"region"and "regionalization,"
PrasenjitDuara distinguishes
taking
the formerto mean "therelatively
unplannedor evolutionary
emergenceof an
area of interaction
and interdependence,"
and the latteras "the more active,
oftenideologically
drivenpoliticalprocessof creatinga region."Whilethisis a
validdistinction,
it obscures(althoughit is subsumedunder"regionalization")
theconceptand practiceofregionalism.
and regionalism
Indeed,regionalization

AmitavAchaiya(aacharya@american.edu)
is Professor
ofInternational
Relationsin the SchoolofInternational
Serviceat AmericanUniversity.

1l have argued elsewherethat regionsshould be understoodin termsof (1) materialand

- regionalist
ideational
ideas and regionalidentity
thatmovethe studyof regionsbeyondpurely
materialist
whole
and
a
(2)
understandings;
parts regional(as opposedto mainlycountry-specific)
and area studiesapproaches;(3) past and
perspectivebased on a marriagebetweendisciplinary
- historical
of regions,going beyond contemporary
present
understanding
policy issues; (4)
inside and outside- internalconstructionof regions,stressingthe role of local agency,as
opposed to externalstimulior the namingof regionsby externalpowers;and (5) permanence
- the fluidity,
and transience
and transienceof regions.See AmitavAcharya,The
"porosity."
of
Southeast
Asia: International
Relationsof a Region(Singapore:Instituteof Southeast
Making
AsianStudies,forthcoming).

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1002

AmitavAchaiya

can be separatedanalytically.
The formeris normally
understoodin thepolitical
as market-driven,
as opposedto state-led,
advanceoftransnaeconomyliterature
tionaleconomiclinkages,includingtrade,investment,
and production.
Hence, a
in East Asia,whichwas
relevanttermhereis the"regionalization
ofproduction"
movementofJapanesecompaniesand capitalfollowspurredbythesouthward
the
rvaluation
of
the
ing
yen afterthe Plaza Accordof 1985,whichbrought
South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore,and other SoutheastAsian
countriesunderits ambitand createda de factoEast Asianeconomicregion.2
inthepoliticalscienceand international
relations
as itis understood
Regionalism,
of
a
common
the
deliberate
act
literature,
including
forging
platform,
implies
transnational
civil
new intergovernmental
and
networks,
society
organizations
to deal withcommonchallenges,realize commonobjectives,and articulate
While muchof thiscan be subsumedunder
and advancea commonidentity.
in the sense thatDuara speaksof, regionalization
can proceed
regionalization
drivenpoliticalprocessof
in the absence "the moreactive,oftenideologically
creatinga region,"especiallywhenthelatterentailsformalregionalinstitutions.
andtransnational
Asiawasfarintotheprocessofeconomicinterdependence
probeforethe firstformalintergovernmental
ductionnetworks
regionaleconomic
grouping,APEC (Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation),was created in 1989.
thatbringsthe notionofAsia alive.
But it is regionalism
in
his
discussionof the pre-WorldWar II period,Duara sets
Moreover,
projectin
regionalization
"imperialregionalism"againstthe "anti-imperialist
I
the
that
I
with
this
Asia." While agree
anti-imperialist
dichotomy, argue
not
was
the
well
into
which
singularas a
postwarperiod,
persisted
project,
of Asian regionalismhad varied
source of Asian regionalism.The trajectory
thatneed tobe recognized.WhileDuara focuseson Rabindranath
underpinnings
Tagore,OkakuraTenshin,and ZhangTaiyan,I bringin AungSan,Ho Chi Minh,
cannotbe fully
of Asianregionalism
and JosRizal.The richnessand diversity
foritwas in SouthcapturedwithoutlookingtheseSoutheastAsianproponents,
ofSoutheastAsian
oftheAssociation
eastAsia,especiallywiththeestablishment
in Asia founditsfirsttrulyviableexpression.
Nationsin 1967,thatregionalism

ContestedVisions
and half,these
forthepastcentury
While"Asia"has notlackedprotagonists
and
their
ideational
in
of
terms
differed
have
underpinnings
widely
protagonists
politicalgoals. Lookingat the championsof Asia and theirideas, at least four
in the earlypost-WorldWar II
different
conceptionsof Asia can be identified
period. These may be termedimperialistAsia, nationalistAsia, universalist
2MitchellBernardandJohnRavenhill,
"BeyondProductCyclesand FlyingGeese: Regionalization,
East
of
Industrialization
and
the
1995): 171-209.
Asia,"WorldPolitics47, no. 2 (January
Hierarchy,

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Asia Is Not One

1003

Asia. A fifth
Asia,and regionalist
Asia,thoughalready
conception,
exceptionalist
would
later
as
a
force.
incipient,
emerge
majorpolitical
These categoriesare not mutuallyexclusive.Moreover,elements and
impulseswithinthese categoriesmay be presentto different
degrees in a
ofAsia.Thus,whileJawaharlal
NehruofIndiabelongedprimarsingleproponent
to
nationalist
he
also
identified
with
universalist
Asia (or at leastan interAsia,
ily
and regionalist
Asia. Moreover,theseimpulsescan shiftduringthe
nationalist)
courseofa politicalcareer,and a lifetime.
The firstconception,
Asia (similarto Duara's "imperialregionalimperialist
ism"),is tiedto thehegemonicpurposeofgreatpowers,bothWesternandAsian.
While the term"Asia" did not originatewithit, Westerncolonialrule,even
though it severelydisruptedexistingintraregionalcommercialtrafficand
did contribute
to the reihelpeddivideAsiaintodifferent
spheresofinfluence,
ficationof the concept,therebyfurthering
the culturaland politicaldichotomy
that had developed between Europe and Asia throughthe centuries,well
beforethe "consciousnessof an Asianidentityoriginated[withinAsia] largely
in reactionto the colonialsystemand in the commondenominatorof antiWesternsentiment."3
Butitwasinthehandsofan Asianpower,Japan,thattheimperialist
notionof
Asiaassumeda peculiarprominence,
as imperialJapananditsapologists
soughtto
invokea discourseof pan-Asianism
to legitimizeits dominancein a way that
Westernpowersin theregionhad notand otherAsianpowerssuchas Chinaand
Indiawouldnot.The dual roleofJapanas Asia'ssaviorand itshegemonicleader
was clearlyillustrated
in theJapanesenotionofa GreaterEast AsiaCo-Prosperity
of Korea, Taiwan,and
Sphere. EncompassingJapan(includingthe territories
Sakhalin),China, Manchukuo,FrenchIndochina,and the Dutch East Indies,
thiswas, of course,not all of Asia, but the "the conceptbuilton Pan-Asian
notionsof an 'Asiancommunity'
thathad earlierdevelopedin Japan,and which
wouldbe extendedto SoutheastAsianand SouthAsianif not on the basis of
fromall
race,thenon thebasisofa 'commoninterest.'"4
Indeed,representatives
overAsiawereinvited
totheGreaterEastAsiaConference
heldinNovember1943.
it
was
but
one
element
it had the
Although
amongJapanesepan-Asianism,
mostseriousimpacton the destiniesof the Asianstatesand the livesof their
While it
peoples. This was a conceptof hegemonicregionand regionalism.
offereda platform
fororganizing
the unityof thoseincorporated
intoit,it was
not alwayson a voluntary
basis,but coerced.The Japaneseimperialist
region
was markedbya highdegreeoftradeinterdependence,
and itcertainly
inspired
freedomstruggles
alloverAsia.Butinpoliticalterms,itdegeneratedintoanother
formofforeigndominance,no less oppressivethanthatoftheWesterncolonial
3JohnM. Steadman,The MythofAsia (London: Macmillan,1969),32-33.
Peter Duus, "The GreaterEast Asian Co-Prosperity
Sphere: Dream and Reality,"
Journalof
Northeast
AsianHistory5, no. 1 (June2008): 146-47.

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1004

AmitavAchaiya

powers.Burmas Aung San, who had earlierendorsedthe GreaterEast Asia

Co-Prosperity
Sphere,and even envisioned"a commondefencepolicyin East
Asia as the best guaranteefor the maintenanceof the GreaterEast Asia
Co-prosperity
Sphere" (Silverstein1972:21), now insistedthat"a new Asian
order. . . willnotand mustnotbe one liketheCo-prosperity
Sphereofmilitarist
nor
should
it
be
another
Asiatic
Monroe
nor
doctrine, imperialpreference
Japan,
or currency
bloc."5
The legacyofimperialist
Asiawouldhavea long-term
effect,
shapingregional
the
Cold
War.
The
SoutheastAsian
of
the
superpowerrivalry
during
perceptions
was perceivedas an attempt
imperial,
TreatyOrganization,
althoughnotoutright
in
some
sections
at neocolonialdomination
Asia,
includingIndias Nehruand
by
Indonesia'sSukarno.It did notlastverylong,buthelpedpolarizeAsiaalongthe
thesocialization
ofChina(alongwithother
Cold Wardivide,probablydisrupting
issues,includingtheKoreanWar,theTaiwanissue,and Chinas ownsupportfor
in the region).
communist
movements
couldsweepthrough
Even beforeJapaneseimperialism
Asia,thereemerged
Asia. Its mosteloanotherconceptionof Asia thatmaybe termeduniversalist
Tagore,who combineda visceraldistaste
quent proponentwas Rabindranath
witha passionatebeliefin the "commonbond of spiritualism"
fornationalism
advocatea political
amongAsia'speoples.6AlthoughTagoredid notspecifically
have
been
of states thismight
prematuregiventhatAsiawas still
regionalism
and intellectualpromotionof the
undercolonialrule his recognition
firmly
an alternaaffinities
amongAsia'speoples constituted
spiritualand civilizational
inwhichsocietiesratherthanstatestakethe
tiveconceptionofAsianregionalism
centerstageand thatthrivesas muchas on ideationaland culturalflowsas on
economiclinksor politicalpurpose.
a conceptionof Asia thatwas notpreTagorewas not alone in articulating
mised on a narrowstate-centric
nationalism;Rebecca Karl has analyzedan
orientedthanTagores,
much morepolitically
formof regionalism,
alternative
in
non-state
centered
"rooted
intellectuals
Chinese
practices and
among
non-national-chauvinist
culturalism,"that could be contrastedwith Sun
visionofAsia."7This alternative
Yat-sens"state-based,
regionalanti-imperialist
ismthatKarlspeaksofwas centeredaroundtheideas and associatesofChinese
called
ofa little-known
intellectual
organization
LiangQichao,and theactivities
whichwas setup in Tokyoin 1907 byChineseinteltheAsianSolidarity
Society,
and Filipinoexiles.Aninterand
lectuals,Japanesesocialists, Indian,Vietnamese,
estingaspect of this regionalismwas the recognitionaccorded to the "first
The PoliticalLegacyofAung San (Ithaca,N.Y.: Departmentof AsianStudies,
5JosefSilverstein,
SoutheastAsianProgramCornellUniversity,
1972), 101.
6Rabindranath
Tagore,Nationalism(London: Macmillan,1918).
AmerofTwentieth
7RebeccaKarl,"CreatingAsia:Chinain theWorldat theBeginning
Century,"
ican HistoricalReview103,no. 4 (October1998): 1096-97.

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Asia Is Not One

1005

Asianpatriot,fromwhichChinaand
Filipino,"JosRizal,as "thequintessential
otherAsianmustlearn."8AlthoughRizal is betterknownas a championof the
unityof the Malayrace,his messagewas appropriated
by the non-state-centric
of
Asian
variety
regionalism.
Tagores innateuniversalism
put himat odds withthe powerfulcurrentsof
nationalism
sweepingAsia,includingin the veryplaces the poet visitedin his
Asia,and whichhe imaginedas beingintegralto hisconception
voyagesthrough
ofa thirdconceptionofAsia,which
ofAsia.Thisis notto saythattheproponents
I call nationalistAsia, were untouchedby universalist
values and instincts.
Leaders such as Nehru, Aung San, and Sukarno saw little contradiction
As AungSan putit,"I recogand international
betweennationalism
cooperation.
I don't
I loveitsvirtues,
of
niseboththevirtuesand limitations purenationalism,
to be blindedbyitslimitations,
allowmyself
thoughI knewthatitis noteasyfor
ofanynationto getovertheselimitations."9
thegreatmajority
AungSans nationandinterboth
nationalism
and
could
of
Nehru
like
those
Sukarno,
alism,
support
fromAsias newpowerelitedidnotempathizewith
butthesefigures
nationalism,
Asia at the expenseof nationalism.
universalist
leaderssuch as
This thirdvisionof Asia, championedby Asia'snationalist
Burma's
Chinas Sun Yat-sen,India'sJawaharlal
Nehru,
AungSan, and Vietnam's
to further
the
Asia'srejuvenation
Ho Chi Minh,was gearedtowardharnessing
BeforeWorldWar II, especiallyaroundthetime
retreatofWesterncolonialism.
a numberof leaders
of the 1927 Congressof the Oppressed Nationalities,
theIndianNationalCongress(a groupthatwasbelievedto includeMohanwithin
das Gandhi,C. R. Das, and laterNehru)supportedtheidea ofan "Asianfederain this
tion"to organizejointstruggle
Regionalism
againstWesterncolonialism.10
and
sensewas notonlycompatiblewith,but also a bulwarkfor,Asia'srestoration
Ho Chi Minhwas keen to use regionalcooperationto
Certainly
rejuvenation.11
In a speechto welcomeSarat
the cause ofVietnameseindependence.12
further
ChandraBose, brotherof SubhasChandraBose at the cityhall of Rangoonon
July24, 1946,AungSan statedthatBurmawould"standforan AsiaticFederation
we standforimmediatemutualunderstanding
in a notvery,veryremotefuture,
andwheneverpossible,fromnowforourmutualinterandjointaction,wherever
estsand forthefreedomof India,Burmaand indeedall Asia."

8Ibid, 1106.
9AungSan, Burma'sChallenge(SouthOkklapa,Myanmar:U AungGyi,1974), 193.
T. A. Keenleyside,"NationalistIndianAttitudetowardsAsia: A TroublesomeLegacy,"Pacific
55, no. 2 (Summer1982): 216.
Affairs
Relationsof SoutheastAsia (Singapore:
nAmitavAcharya,The Questfor Identity:International
OxfordUniversity
Press,2000).
RevoluE. Goscha,Thailandand the SoutheastAsian Netivorks
oftheVietnamese
Christopher
244.
Curzon
1885-1954
Press,1999),
tion,
(Surrey:
Aung San, BogyokeAung San Maint-Khun-Myar(1945-1947): GeneralAung San's Speeches
(Rangoon:SarpayBait Man Press,1971),86.

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1006

AmitavAchaiya

In September1945, Ho Chi Minhspokeofhis interestin the creationof a

"pan-Asiaticcommunity"comprisingVietnam,Cambodia, Laos, Thailand,
Malaya, Burma, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines(China, Japan,and
His ostenKorea were notincludedin Ho s visionof an Asiaticcommunity).14
sible goal at thisstagewas to fosterpoliticaland economiccooperationamong
these countrieswhile maintaininggood relationswith the United States,
France,and GreatBritain.This was a timewhen Ho stillhoped thatthe colonialpowers,exhaustedbywar,wouldvoluntarily
speed up theprocessof decolonization.But when thisprovedto be a falsehope, Ho and otherSoutheast
Asian nationalistleaders began consideringthe use of regionalcooperation
to oppose the returnof European colonialism.This was clearlyevidentin
Hos letterto the Indonesianprime minister,Sutan Sjahrir,in November
1946 urging cooperation between the two countries to advance their
commonstruggleforfreedom.In his letter,Ho asked Indonesiato join him
in gettingIndia,Burma,and Malayato developinitiatives
towarda "Federation
of Free Peoples of SouthernAsia."But Indonesianleadersrespondedcoollyto
thisidea, apparently
worriedthatcooperating
withtheVietnamesecommunists
would givethe Dutch an opportunity
to use the fearof communismto delay
Indonesia'sown independence.
decolonization
was a principalthemeat the 1947 AsianRelations
Advancing
Conferencein New Delhi, the firstconferenceof Asiannationsin the postwar
period.It was even more centralto the Second Asian RelationsConference,
also knownas the Conferenceon Indonesia,whichwas directly
and specifically
Indonesianfreedomfighters
afterthe second Dutch
gearedtowardsupporting
in
1948.
action
all
the
talk
about
Yet,despite
police
pan-Asianunity,itsproponentswere willingto offeronlypolitical,ratherthanmaterial,supportforthe
regions independencemovements.For example,Indias aid to Indonesian
freedomfighters,
an exception,was not extendedto Ho Chi Minh,much to
the disappointment
of Ho s supporters.
And these earlystirrings
of pan-Asianism
did not translateinto concrete
and durable formsof cooperationand institutionalization.
There was an
uncomfortable
sense thatthe pan-Asianists
of India, Japan,and China "were
...
primarilyconcernedwith their own countries,"and their "exhortations
own
distinctive
cultures."1
Southas
an
extension
of
their
Moreover,
largely
east Asians saw in a pan-Asiancommunity
potentialfor Chinese or Indian
domination.As one Burmese put it, "It was terribleto be ruled by a
Westernpower,but it was even more so to be ruled by an Asian power."16
And the pan-Asiansentiments
of India'sleaderswere stymiedby limitedcontowardthe
tacts with nationalistleaders in other parts of Asia, misgivings
244.
Revolution,
14Goscha,Thailandand SoutheastAsianNetworks
oftheVietnamese
TheMythofAsia, 33.
15Steadman,
Henderson, The Developmentot Regionalismin SoutheastAsia.

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Asia Is Not One

1007

in China, and the rise of anti-Indiansentimentsin

Nationalistgovernment
Burmaand otherpartsof Asia.17
of
While NationalistAsia soughtto channelregionalismas an instrument
and nationalliberation,the fourthvision,regionalistAsia,
anticolonialism
of the regions newly
inspiredthosewho wishedto use the combinedplatform
seek
a
collective
voice
on
the
worldstage.There
nation
states
to
independent
and regionalist
was considerableoverlapbetweennationalist
Asia,withNehru,
Minh
to
both.
But
the
Ho
Chi
(ortheregionalist
belonging
regionalists
AungSan,
wenta stepbeyondmerelysecuringindependencefrom
side ofthenationalists)
rule.
The
colonial
logicalnextstepto followinthepursuitofAsianismwasto seek
As AungSan of
of regionaland international
affairs.
a rolein the management
and
is
Burma put it, "Asia has been rejuvenated
cominginto
progressively
councils.Its voice
worldpolitics.Asia can no longerbe ignoredin international
growslouderand louder.You can hearit in Indonesia,you can hearit in IndoOne major
China,you can harkento it in Burmaand India and elsewhere."18
in the agendasof the AsianRelations
exampleof thisshiftwas the differences
Conferencein
Conferencesof 1947 and 1949, and that of the Asia-Africa
dominatedbytheAsians.
1955,which,despiteitshybridname,was thoroughly
WhiletheAsianRelationsConferencesfrettedoversupportfordecolonization,
wouldputit,set
at Bandung,as itssecretary-general
thetwenty-nine
participants
international
out "to determine. . . the standardsand proceduresofpresent-day
and establishment
ofcertainnormsforthe
"theformulation
relations,"
including
forthepracrelationsand theinstruments
international
conductofpresent-day
In otherwords,whilethe Asian Relations
ticalapplicationof these norms."19
about
were
Conferences
independence(fromcolonial rule), Bandung was
fromgreatpoweror superpowerintervention).
aboutintervention
(security
the historicallinkages
of restoring
also saw the possibility
The regionalists
amongAsian societiesdisruptedby European colonialismto forgea regional
association.Nehru describedthe firstAsian RelationsConferencein New
Delhi as an "expressionof the deeper urge of the mind and spiritof Asia
whichgrewup duringtheyears
whichhas persistedin spiteof the isolationism
We have seen Ho Chi Minh's interestin a
of European domination."20
afterWorldWar II, Nehruwouldadvo"Pan-Asiatic
Community."
Immediately
"a closerunionbetweenIndiaand South-EastAsiaon
catea regionalassociation:
the one side,and Afghanistan,
Iran,and theArabworldon theWest."21

IndianAttitudetowardsAsia."
^Keenleyside,"Nationalist
ThePoliticalLegacyofAuna San, 101
18Silverstein,
The BandungSpirit(Jakarta:
19RoselanAbdulghani,
Prapantja,1964), 72, 103.
and DocuNehru,"InauguralAddress,"inAsianRelations:ReportoftheProceedings
20Jawaharlal
1947
Delhi:
First
Asian
Relations
New
mentation
the
Delhi,
(New
Conference,
of
March-April,
AsianRelationsOrganization,
1948),23.
"Nationalist
IndianAttitudetowardsAsia,"216-17.
Keenleyside,

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1008

AmitavAchaiya

But SoutheastAsianswereunnervedbytheprospectsfora largerAsianfedwithIndia,Aung

erationor even association.Even professing
deep friendship
San recognizedthat"[w]hileIndia shouldbe one entityand China another,
- then, finally,
we should
SoutheastAsia as a whole should forman entity
of otherpartsofAsia as
come togetherin a biggerunionwiththe participation
more
well."22SoutheastAsiawouldfindsubregional
unity
practicalandpalatable.
Bear in mindthatJosRizalhad advocatedtheunityoftheMalayrace,although
Frustrated
to
he was appropriated
bythe failureof his efforts
bypan-Asianists.
secure materialaid fromfellowAsian countriesforhis struggleagainstthe
French,Ho Chi Minh would turnto the idea of an Indochinesefederation.
in military
"Because oftheclose geography
and extricablerelationship
and politicsbetweenVietnam,Laos andCambodia,thesuccessorfailureofrevolutionary
willhavea directimpacton thatoftheothers.Our task
liberation
ofone country
in Cambodiaand Laos/'23
is to helpthe revolutionary
movements
This SoutheastAsianconcernwas evidentat the 1947 AsianRelationsConto the 1947
ference,whereAbu Hanifa,one of the Indonesianrepresentatives
wrotelaterthatthe idea of a whollySoutheastAsiangroupingwas
conference,
conceivedat the conferencein responseto the beliefamong the Southeast
Asiandelegatesthatthe largerstates,India and China,could not be expected
to supporttheirnationalistcause. At the meeting,delegatesfromIndonesia,
and Malaya"debated,talked,[and]
Burma,Thailand,Vietnam,the Philippines,
planneda SoutheastAsianAssociationcloselycooperatingfirstin culturaland
economicmatters.Later,therecould perhapsbe a more closelyknitpolitical
cooperation.Some of us even dreamt of a Greater Southeast Asia, a
federation."24
AndthelegacyofNationalist
Asiawas too strongand enduringto permitany
and
fulfillment
of
these
at Regionalist
Asia,even at the
earlyefforts
quick
easy
not
subregionallevel. These effortswere at best intendedto strengthen,
Minweakenthe autonomyofthe nation-state.
as
ASEAN, Singapore'sForeign
the
isterS. Rajaratnamwould put it, was intendedto serve and strengthen
nationalinterest,
notto diluteor compromiseit.
Asia betweenUniversalism
and Exceptionalism
the nextstagein
AfterthefailureofearlyAsianregionalism,
post-Bandung,
construction
came in the 1960s.It was a regionimaAsia'snationalist-regionalist
Asia. SoutheastAsia tookthe helm
from
one
of
its
Southeast
subregions,
gined
Vandenboschand RichardButwell,The ChangingFace of SoutheastAsia (Lexington:
22Amry
Pressof Kentucky,
1966),341.
University
23Ho Chi Minh,Ho Chi MinhTalksabout History,trans.Houng Nguyen(Hanoi: Nh XutBn
Dai Hoc Su Pham,1995).
255.
Revolution,
24Goscha,Thailandand SoutheastAsianNetworks
oftheVietnamese

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Asia Is Not One

1009

afterthe leadershipof India and China ended- India'sbecause of internaldisa member of the Colombo
tractionsand rivalrywith Pakistan(ironically,
and Chinas because ofitsviolationofitsownpledgeofnonPowersfraternity),
interference
at
given the BandungConference(one ofthetenprinciplesofthe
the Sino-IndianWar underminedthe
BandungDeclaration).Most important,
claimsof bothto jointlylead Asia. In the meantime,Japanremainedmiredin
the legacyof its imperialrecord,hesitantto launch new regionalinitiatives,
especiallywitha politicaland securitypurpose.Moreover,SoutheastAsia was
bothdomesticand interstate
itselfdividedand proneto conflict,
(Konfrontasi).
a
to
create
The firstattempt
regionalbody,the Associationof SoutheastAsia
(ASA), foundedin 1960, failedbecause it did not include SoutheastAsia's
biggestplayer,Indonesia.A second body,Maphilindo,(Malaysia,Philippines,
and Indonesia),premisedon the notionof the unityof the Malay race, and
of the Philippinesas a Malay nation,
thus recallingJos Rizis identification
also collapsed over escalatingtensionsbetween Indonesia and Malaysia,as
ofthe Malaysian
Sukarnocalledintoquestion,withmilitary
force,thelegitimacy
federation.
were held by an underlying
Yet even the subregionalefforts
conceptionof
Asianness.Thus,despitebeingan associationofSoutheastAsia,theASA'sproponentssaw themselvesas partof a largerAsiancultural,political,and economic
context.For ThanatKhoman,the Thai foreignministerand a keyarchitectof
was rootedin "Asiancultureand traditions."
theASA,theassociation
Describing
he argued,"For Asian
as
an
the ASA
exampleof "Asianmutualco-operation,"
mustbe and will be forgedby Asian hands and the factthatour
solidarity
and Thailand,have
threecountries:the Federationof Malaya,the Philippines,
task cannot be a mere
joined hands in accomplishingthis far-reaching
coincidence."25
Afterthesefalsestarts,one segmentof SoutheastAsiacomprising
Thailand,
Malaysia,Indonesia,the Philippines,and Singaporefinallyheld togetherto
the Associationof
createAsia'sfirstviablemultipurpose
regionalorganization,
SoutheastAsian Nations(ASEAN). But even by then,a more powerfulforce
in the sense definedearlier,was emergingin parallelwith
of regionalization,
This was the idea of a Pacific
SoutheastAsia's searchforunityand identity.
academics
(laterAsia-Pacific)
community.
ProposedbyJapaneseand Australian
and drivenbythehigheconomicgrowthand interdependence
amongtheindustrialeconomiesofthe PacificRim,the idea of a Pacificcommunity
finally
gave
to
enter
the
of
albeit
at
first
a
Asia,
through
fray regionalist
episJapan platform
and semiofficial
temiccommunities
groupingssuch as the PacificBasin EconomicCouncil(founded1967), the PacificTrade and DevelopmentConference
(1968), and the PacificEconomicCooperationCouncil(1980).
25Association
of SoutheastAsia,Reportofthe SpecialSessionof ForeignMinisters
ofASA (Kuala
Lumpur/Cameron
Highlands:Federationof Malaya,1962),33.

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1010

AmitavAcharya

notAsia.Keyrolesindevelopingit
thiswasan Asia-Pacific
construct,
Initially,
to
think
and
notjust fromJapanbut
tanks,
belonged individuals,
governments,
also fromoutsideAsia, especiallyfromAustraliaand the United States. But
the Pacificcommunity
idea graduallymorphedinto the Asia-Pacific(or Asia
Pacific)idea, largelybecause of the need to involveASEAN memberswho
were deeplysuspiciousof the projectas a moveto marginalize
the developing
ASEAN s consentand
nations,and withan eye to Chinas futureincorporation.
endorsement
was necessaryto makeitwork.
The Asia-Pacific
idea wouldlead in 1989 to thefirstregionwide
intergovernmentalinstitution
(outsidetheEconomicand SocialCommissionforAsiaandthe
Pacificand the AsianDevelopmentBank),Asia-Pacific
EconomicCooperation
Its
was
not
to
a
(APEC).
purpose
develop European Union-likesupranational
But
neither
was
it
Asia, to anticolonialor antibody
geared, la nationalist
Westernobjectives.By now,those objectiveshad receded into the historical
The newagendaofregionalism
was interdependence,
notindepenbackground.
dence.The driverwas notanticolonial
butthequestforgrowthand
sentiments,
no
direct
evidence
can
be
of
dynamism.
Although
providedlinkingregionalism
the Pacificor Asia-Pacific
varietywiththe regions economicgrowth(it would
be the otherway around),therewas littlequestionthatthe idea behind it
reflectedeconomicperformance
and optimismforthe future.Moreover,what
startedas an effortdefinedmainlyin Pacifictermsbecame one in whichthe
Asianelementwouldgrowto be the moreprominent
one.
As regionalist
Asiacontinuedto competewithnationalist
Asiaforthesupport
ofAsias newpoliticalelite undercut,
butnotpermanently
extinguished,
bythe
- therewouldemergea fifth
latter
of
which
be
termed
conception Asia,
might
Asia.
It
was
the
of
the
economic
exceptionalist
product
phenomenal
growth
had
enjoyedby some of Asias economies.Claims about Asia'sdistinctiveness
been
but
were
the
of
Western
around,
Orientalism,
always
they
largely product
whichimaginedAsia to be exotic,romantic,and subservient.
A new formof
constructed
Asia's
own
came
to
the forein the
elite,
exceptionalism,
by
power
1990s,thistimebased on claimsand assertionsabouthowAsiancultureunderAsia proponentswere,of
pinnedthe success of its economies.Exceptionalist
course,averseto globalization.
They actuallythrivedon its economicbenefits,
uncomfortable
withthe globalization
were
of humanrightsand
althoughthey
democracy.
The term"Asianvalues" emergedin the 1990s in parallelwiththe high
growthof East Asian economies,such as Japan,South Korea, Hong Kong,
such as Singaporeprime
Taiwan,and Singapore.This led some commentators,
withculturaltraits
minister
Lee Kuan Yew,to associateeconomicperformance
this
latermorphed
of
"Confucian
and habit.While Lee initially
values,"
spoke
intoAsianvalues.The listof Asianvalues varies,but generallyincludeshard
work,thrift(high savingsrates),an emphasison education,consensus,the
nationalteamwork,
and respectforauthority.
rejectionofextremeindividualism,

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Asia Is Not One

1011

The termacquireda politicalconnotation

whencriticsviewedsome elementsof
as
a
forauthoritarian
rule.26Critics
as
for
such
it,
respect authority, justification
arguedthatwhatpassedas Asianvalueswereinno wayspecialoruniquetoAsian
ofAsiacouldpermitno
societies,andthatthesheerpoliticalandculturaldiversity
abouta set ofcommonly
heldvaluesacrosstheregion.How
suchgeneralization
can one speakofa coherentsetofvaluesthatcan be uniquely"Asian,"andignore
betweenConfucian,Muslim,and Hindu culturalnorms?The
the differences
Asianfinancial
crisisof 1997 dealta blowto the Asianvaluesconcept,whenits
Lee Kuan Yew included,admittedthattherecould be "bad" Asian
proponents,
and a lackoftransparency
and accountability.
values,suchas corruption
with
and
fromit,a newformof
Asia,
Coinciding exceptionalist
partlyderiving
East Asianregionalism
Asia-Pacific
movementof"open
challengedthehitherto
a
contest
of
sorts
between
APEC
and
regionalism,"
settingup
Malaysianprime
minister
MahathirMohammedsEast AsianEconomicGrouping(renamedthe
East Asia EconomicCaucus).27Followingthe 1997 Asiancrisis,the idea of an
East Asian community
gained momentum.Its advocatessaw East Asia as a
"crucialand distinctive
moreintegrated
and
regionin theworld,"economically
and culturally
morecoherentthanunwieldyAsia-Pacific
forumssuch
politically
as the ASEAN RegionalForum and APEC thatinclude the United States,
Canada, and Australia.At 54 percentof the regions totaltrade,comparedto
35 percentin 1980, intra-EastAsiantradewas higherthanthatin the North
Americanfree trade region (46 percent),and "verymuch comparableto
trade in the European Union before the 1992 Maastricht
intra-regional
It is thusEast Asiathatoffersthebesthopes fora "bona fideregional
treaty."28
withsharedchallenges,commonaspirations
and a paralleldestiny"
community
and for the developmentof a "strongsense of regionalidentityand ...
consciousness."29
So far,East Asian regionalismhas turnedout to be less exclusivist
than
trade and security
initially
anticipated,thankspartlyto persistingtranspacific
with
the
United
States
and
concern
for
a
dependence
risingChina dominating
such an East Asia-onlyconstruct.The inauguralEast Asian Summitin 2005
tooka functional
ratherthana geographicviewof East Asia by givinga seat at
the table to India, Australia,and New Zealand. Now it seems the United
Sen,"HumanRightsand AsianValues:WhatKee KuanYewand Le Peng Don't Under26Amartya
standabout Asia,"The New Republic217, nos. 2-3 (1997); and The Economist,May 18, 1994,
13-14.
27Richard
APEC
Higgottand RichardStubbs,"Competing
ConceptionsofEconomicRegionalism:
versusEAEC in the Asia Pacific,"Reviewof International
PoliticalEconomy2, no. 3 (Summer
1995): 516-35.
HaruhikoKuroda,"Towardsa BorderlessAsia: A Perspectiveon AsianEconomicIntegration,"
speech at the EmergingMarketsForum,December 10, 2005, http://www.adb.org/Documents/
ftn3.
Speeches/2005/ms2005088.asp#
2 East AsiaVision
GroupReport,"Towardsand East AsianCommunity:
RegionofPeace, Prosper2001, 2, 6, 24, http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/report2001.pdf.
ityand Progress,"

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1012

AmitavAchaiya

Statesand Russiawillbe invitedas well.Butwhetherthenon-EastAsianswillbe

assuredof equal statuswithinthe East Asiancommunity,
or willbe partof the
core group drivingthe community-building
process, remainsto be seen.
Should the "purist"(Han 2005:147) view of East Asia prevail,these nations
would have good reasonto be unhappyover their"second-class"status.And
whilethe broadeningof the East Asia Summitmighthave dispelledfearsof
in the summit
Chinese dominance,this could engenderChinese disinterest
is to findthe
The
for
East
Asian
visionaries
and
leaders
process.
keychallenge
balancebetweenChinesedominanceand Chinesedisinterest.
Asia can be seen in the "Rising
In the meantime,echoes of exceptionalist
Asia" discourseinspiredby the massiveeconomic growth,militarybuildup,
and attendant
politicalcloutofChinaand,to a lesserextent,India.WhilenationalistAsia spoke of Asia'semancipationand reemergencefromWesterndominance,oftenin spiritualand moralterms,RisingAsia proponentsspeak to the
ofAsia displacingtheWestfromitsperchof globalleadership.How
possibility
the Asianpowersmightcooperateto createa commonAsianhome,muchless
an Asianpowerhouse,remainsunclearin the RisingAsia discourse.
are
outofsheerdependenceon economicglobalization,
The exceptionalists,
in
Asia
civil
to
their
society
relatively
open. Moreover,
likely keep
regionalism
valuesofhumanrights,
weddedto theuniversalist
seemsmorefirmly
democracy,
who
whichcould checkthe exceptionalists,
the environment,
and,increasingly,
wouldotherwise"Asianize"or truncatethesevaluesin supportof theirregime
survivalconcerns.Hence, theAsia thatwe see in the comingdecades maywell
Asia and
betweenuniversalist
and compromises
be shapedbythe contestations
is
the
contest
that
before
some
fear
In
Asia.
the
meantime,
exceptionalist
Asia,
Asia,withsupportand sustenancefromexceptionalist
settled,imperialist
reshapethe
especiallyfromwithinChina,mighttake over and fundamentally
Asian orderin the twenty-first
century.This will happen if China continues
riseandimposesa MonroeDoctrine-like
withitsrelentless
sphereoveritsneighAsia.
of regionalist
bors.The besthope againstthiswouldbe the strengthening
are
Asia abound.Asianregionalinstitutions
of regionalist
But as yet,limitations
in
conrole
to
undertake
and
unable
stillsovereignty
bound,unwilling
anymajor
stillremainssacred.It willtake
The doctrineofnoninterference
flictresolution.
Asia
Asiafora trulyregionalist
ofnationalist
timeto changetheseunderpinnings
to takeover.
I amingeneralagreement
To conclude,as a scholarofinternational
relations,
ofAsiahas to be givento
withDuara thata prominent
place in theconstruction
and regionato see regionalism
It is heartening
and regionalization.
regionalism
ofas a preserveofpoliticalscientists,
whicharesometimesthought
lization,
being
from
scholars
of
Asia
in
the
tools
viewedas seriously
by
analyzing concept
helpful
30Amitav
2010): 32-39.
Achaiya,"The Idea ofAsia,"Asia Policy9 (January

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Asia Is Not One

1013

otherfieldsin thesocialsciencesand humanities.

Withoutregionalism,
I argue,
theremightnotevenbe anyidea ofAsiaforus to talkabout.Speakingoftheidea
of Asia,Rebecca Karl showsthat"farfromalwaysmeaningthe same thingor
evenincludingthe same configurations
ofpeoples and states,it has been mobilized forverydifferent
in
times."31Similarly,
purposesat different
regionalism
Asiahasnotbeen a singular
orcoherentsetofbeliefs.Norhas itbeen an unchanand contributed
to different
gingphenomenon.It has incorporated
conceptions
oftheregionindifferent
Asia's
andpointing
to alternatimes,sustaining
diversity
tivefutures.

31Karl,"CreatingAsia,"1118.

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