Strategic Asia’s overall philosophy is centred on the view that the time has come to build an Asian strategic thinking and advisory capability in the private sector. Here are some building blocks for Strategic Asia’s vision:
The most critical problem in Asia today is not just knowing how to generate faster economic growth but how to manage the political, social, environmental, and economic fallout of the fastest recorded growth performance in recorded history.
The history of earlier episodes of growth and industrial transformation in the advanced countries of the West suggests that sustained growth can be as destabilising as economic stagnation. Major wars of the 20th Century took place as newly growing countries jostled for colonies and resources. The same can happen in Asia unless new types of approaches to solve inter-country disputes are evolved.
The end of the Cold War, Globalisation and record economic growth in Asia on the one hand, combined with the consolidation of regional trading blocks such as the European Union on the other, have led to the emergence of new development problems: food and energy security, migration and conflict, defence and regional security, inequality and unemployment, collapse and transformation of political systems, environmental protection, and the management of mega-cities. These problems are cross country, cross sectoral: as difficult to define as much as to solve.
In so far as they are most keenly felt in the Asian region, the development learning is being done in the region also. This makes is highly probable that the best practices to deal with them will also be evolved locally.
The unique problems of managing record economic transformation and growth on the other and the rise of new global economic powers such as India and China on the other signal both acute dangers of future conflict and unimaginable opportunities for cooperation and resurgence of the entire Asian region.
Much of the strategic thinking and advice on the above has been conducted within existing state bureaucracies and government sponsored programs. As the experience world wide shows such organisations alone can only partially deal with the complex and fast changing new development problems.
Strategic Asia is a private sector response from within Asia to help governments, private businesses and civil society groups to devise more effective, comprehensive strategies to promote inter-country cooperation and to reduce the likelihood of future conflict
Of course, it also aims to help clients from outside the region to understand the future evolution and the current political, business and social features of the most important economies in the Asian region
For this reason, Strategic Asia intends, within the first five years of its operation, to have offices in Indonesia, India, China, Japan and Korea, besides representatives in UK, USA and Australia
Series of discussions held from August to October 2009 under the theme of
“Policy Challenges for the New Government” in anticipation of the incoming new
government in October 2009.
Press Release New Strategic Asia Website While 21st century is expected to be the Asian Century, it is also not to be taken for granted especially since many expet that this is a foregone conclusion.
