E ast and S outh A sia: Managing Difficult Bilateral Relations and Regional Integration Globally

This paper analyzes the economic integration of the E ast and S outh A sian economies in the global economy. E ast A sian economies are shown to be achieving much more of their potential trade than S outh A sian economies, both in terms of intra‐regional trade and in trade with the rest of the world. Examination of the C hina– J apan, I ndia– P akistan and T aiwan–mainland C hina bilateral relationships shows that integration of these economies into the global economy has allowed economic relations to dominate and constrain difficult bilateral political relations in E ast A sia while in S outh A sia adverse political relations have hampered development of bilateral economic relationships.