Organizations in the Asia-Pacific Context
The graphic gives an overview of the membership in important organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.
The focus is on APEC with its 21 members (red frame). It includes not only East Asian and Pacific countries, but also countries in North America and Latin America. Europe is connected to this area, albeit loosely, via ASEM. The meaning of the abbreviations can be found in the table below.
Notable: In the greater Asia-Pacific region
- almost 45% of the world’s population live
- around 55% of the world’s economic output is generated
- around 65% of world trade is handled.
Asia Pacific Greater Organizations
The above-mentioned organizations are shown geographically in the graphic opposite. The Asia-Europe Meeting – ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) is not included in the graphic.
Recommendation: Print out both the graphics in the image enlargement and the following table so that you can see the parts that belong together and complement one another.
Table
overview of the organizations
| APEC | Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) |
| ARF | ASEAN Regional Forum (Regional Forum of ASEAN) |
| EAS | East-Asian Summit (East Asian Summit) |
| ASEAN | Association of South-East Asian Nations (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) |
| ASEAN Plus Three | ASEAN plus three (ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea) |
| SAARC | South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) |
| SCO | Shanghai Cooperation Organization (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) |
THE EAEU AT A GLANCE
Background
According to FOODANDDRINKJOURNAL.COM, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an amalgamation of states in the greater Eurasia area to form a single market with a customs union. The Economic Union (also referred to as the “Eurasian Union” on various occasions) was established with effect from January 1, 2015.
Objectives
To facilitate the exchange of goods, capital, services and labor. Coordination of parts of their economic policy along the lines of the European Union.
Members (5)
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus
EU and EAEU in comparison
The graphic compares parameters of the EU (left diagram) with those of the EAEU (right diagram). The number of inhabitants in millions is compared in the outer columns and economic power, measured as gross domestic product (GDP) in billions of US dollars, in the middle columns.
The data are shown for individual countries as well as for the two communities as a whole. In the case of the EU, the four largest countries and economies are specially marked, in the case of the EAEU, Russia, which is dominant there, is especially highlighted.
Findings
The EU has almost three times as many inhabitants as the EAEU, and its GDP is more than ten times (!) Higher than that of the Eurasian Economic Union. The GDP of the largest European economy, Germany, is more than double that of Russia. On the side of the EAEU, Russia stands out, while the other four member countries, with the exception of Kazakhstan, hardly make any noteworthy contributions.
Origin and development
The efforts to establish a Eurasian Union go back to the Kazakh President Nazarbayev, who brought it up for discussion in 1994. In 1996 the “Community of Integrated States (GIS)” was founded, which in fact only existed on paper. In 2000 the five members founded the “Eurasian Economic Community (EAWG)”.
The aim of both alliances was to dismantle trade barriers. In 2010, a customs union was established within the EAWG, which included Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. With effect from January 1, 2015, the EAWG was transformed into the current economic union.
One candidate country is Tajikistan. The government of Tajikistan has expressed an interest in joining the organization. Studies should clarify possible economic consequences for the country in advance. The country was already a member of the predecessor organizations “Eurasian Economic Community (EAWG)” and “Community of Integrated States (GIS)”.
Comment
Europeans, dress warmly – the Russians are coming!
Your knees are shaking in Brussels. The self-proclaimed world power Russia has rallied four other great powers and is setting out to compete with the EU. Admittedly, the two EU states Germany and France together have more inhabitants than Russia, and the economic strength of the entire EAEU is just around half that of Germany – but who knows what else Putin has in store…
The economic union is de facto a “Russia plus”. Large areas, but nothing behind them! Or is it? Well, in the medium term, easier access to the natural resources of the Central Asian countries could pay off for Russia. It remains to be seen whether the economic union, unlike its predecessor, will actually be realized. To what extent the Russian approach in Crimea and eastern Ukraine will sound the alarm bells among the long-term heads of the other member states is still open.
