Economic Development, Pirates and Smuggling of

Southeast Asia

Ryan Cloyd Q. VillanuevaBA-PolSci 4

Political Science 233 - Government and Politics of Southeast Asia

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

As stated on the article of The Department of StateDevelopment, Business and Innovation, South EastAsia’s strong economic performance is likely tocontinue, driven by population growth, growing tradeand investment activity and the increasing complexityand international engagement of the majoreconomies of the region.

As a single market, South East Asia is asignificant component of the global economy.However, each South East Asian country; has aunique demographic, cultural, political andeconomic development profile.

ASEAN 6 - GDP per capita (purchasing power parity)

Country 1998 2018

Vietnam $1,263 $5,090

Philippines $2,236 $6,133

Indonesia $2,283 $7,487

Thailand $4,444 $14,636

Malaysia $7,995 $23,324

Singapore $28,092 $77,076

Southeast Asia has enjoyed remarkableeconomic progress in recent years. Viewed as asingle entity, the region would rank as theseventh-largest economy in the world. But muchof its recent growth has been generated by anexpanding labor force and the shift of workersfrom agriculture to manufacturing. (McKinsey Global

Institute, 2014)

SEA’S EMERGING IMPORTANCE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

South East Asia has a long history of globalstrategic importance and as the trade accesspoint between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Asthe center of global economic power shifts tothe East, the region is now also emerging as animportant contributor to the internationaleconomy.

Regional integration has been an importantfeature of South East Asia’s economic rise. Withthe Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) at its core, the region has embarked ona process of market liberalization and deeperengagement.(http://dsdbi.vic.gov.au)

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

The decline in exports and the resulting fall inthe GDP growth rates for a number of countriesin Southeast Asia have come in the middle of along and incomplete transition process fromauthoritarian to democratic forms ofgovernance.

Because the nations of Southeast Asiaregularly consult with each other through theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)there is little prospect of a major military actionby one country in the region against another -even if the economic recession proves to bedeep and prolonged.

The U.S. can make the largest contribution toprosperity and political stability in SoutheastAsia by restoring the health of the U.S.economy while remaining open to trade andinvestment both with the region and with therest of the world.

THREE GLOBAL TRENDS

Capturing a greater share of global flows. The global economy has become deeply interconnected as huge volumes of goods, services, capital, people, and data move across borders.

Riding the urbanization wave. The boomingcities of Southeast Asia account for more than65 percent of the region’s GDP today, and morethan 90 million people are expected to move tourban areas by 2030.

Deploying disruptive technologies. Five relatedtechnologies - the mobile Internet, big data, theInternet of Things, the automation of knowledgework, and cloud technology - could modernizesectors across the economy and drive majorproductivity improvements.

By focusing on global trade, urbanization, anddisruptive technologies as drivers of futuregrowth, Southeast Asia could be poised to makea leap forward in economic development. In allthree of these areas, long-term thinking andinvestment by both the public and privatesectors could create immediate economic impactwhile placing the region on a faster and moresustainable trajectory through 2030. If it issuccessful at harnessing these opportunities andtransforming itself into a seamless regionalmarket and production base, ASEAN couldemerge alongside China and India as aneconomic powerhouse.

PIRACY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

The roots of piracy in Southeast Asia

According to the Nautilus Institute, there are six(6) root cause why piracy happen. These are thefollowing: Shaping Piracy in Southeast Asia,Over-fishing and Maritime Boundaries, MaritimeRules and Regulations, Organized Crime,Terrorists and Guerrillas, Poverty,

SHAPING PIRACY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Pirates active in the region can be divided intotwo groups: (1) opportunistic sea-robbers,involved in small scale attacks, and (2)sophisticated organized pirate gangs,responsible for hijackings and other major pirateattacks.

OVER-FISHING AND MARITIME BOUNDARIES

The division of ownership of the sea had anenormous impact on the activities andmovement of fishers from Southeast Asia. Withthe implementation of UNCLOS, fishermen wereno longer allowed to fish in waters nowconsidered to be under the jurisdiction ofanother country, unless they acquired specialfishing licenses.

MARITIME RULES AND REGULATIONS

International regulation and standardization ofmaritime trade is a difficult task. The systemcurrently in place to regulate the maritime sectorconsists “of an ad hoc mix of rules andregulations enacted and enforced by threedifferent regulatory authorities”, namely theclassification societies, the flag states, and thecoastal states.

ORGANIZED CRIME

Asia is home to some of the largest crimesyndicates, which have expanded theiroperations across national and regional bordersand have embraced new technology to conducttheir illegal operations. Economic, political andsocial changes, particularly since the end of theCold War, have been conducive to the spread oforganized crime in the Asian region.

TERRORISTS AND GUERRILLAS

Like criminal organizations, terrorist andguerrilla movements have changed and adaptedtheir operations to the post-Cold Warenvironment, with many of their activities adirect response to political changes anddevelopments.

POVERTY

Even though local economies recovered after the1997 financial crisis, poverty is still widespreadin many countries in Southeast Asia and has animpact on the occurrence of pirate attacks. Forthose among the more desperate left behind inthe region, who live close to the sea and haveaccess to boats, piracy can be an alternativesource of income.

SMUGGLING OF MIGRANTS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

In South-East Asia, high levels of irregularmigration take place within the region,particularly from the countries of the Mekongsub region to Thailand and Malaysia and alsofrom Indonesia to Malaysia. These movementsare, to a significant extent, facilitated bysmugglers.

PUSH AND PULL FACTORS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA RELATED TO THE SMUGGLING OF

MIGRANTS AND OTHER IRREGULAR MIGRATION

Irregular migration in South-East Asia is largelydriven by economic factors, such as poverty andlack of employment opportunities. These factorscombine with significant disparities betweenneighboring countries, leading to large-scaleirregular labor migration to the moreeconomically developed countries in the region.In some cases, political factors contribute tothese flows.