Human Security: Challenges and Opportunities in East Asia

Abstract

East Asia is an extremely successful region of development in terms of both economic growth, and stable and secure governance. A 2011 study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), on realizing the Asian Century, found that if Asia continues to follow its recent trajectory, by 2050 its per capita income could rise six-fold in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms to reach contemporary European levels, making some 3 billion additional Asians affluent by current standards. ‘By nearly doubling its share of global gross domestic product (GDP) to 52 per cent by 2050, Asia would regain the dominant economic position it held some 300 years ago, before the industrial revolution’ (ADB, 2011, p. 3). Although many countries in East Asia still fall short of the democratic ideal and concerns persist regarding human rights, nevertheless, the idea that the 21st century will be one of Asian dominance and leadership owes much to the success stories of the Northeast and Southeast Asian sub-regions. Indeed under President Barack Obama, the United States, the current global leader, has paid tribute to the rise of the region. In 2009, the first Obama administration dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to East Asia as her first official foreign policy tour, and in 2012, on the cusp of the second administration, a ‘pivot’ toward the region was announced (later the emphasis was placed on the concept of a ‘strategic rebalancing’ toward East Asia).