The Asian Development Bank and Developmental Regionalism in East Asia

Abstract

The Asian Development Bank (adb) has made increasingly important contributions to Asia's (and particularly East Asia's) regionalism over recent years, and especially since Haruhiko Kuroda became the Bank's president in February 2005. This paper argues that the adb's role here has become more significant because of the strong ‘developmental’ characteristics of East Asia's new regionalism. This is not least because, as a regional development bank, the adb has a predilection for linking development, regionalism and capacity-building together when promoting regional co-operation and integration (rci) in Asia. We may refer to this as ‘developmental regionalism’, where rci activities are particularly orientated to enhancing the economic capacity and prospects of less developed countries with the view of strengthening their integration into the regional economy, and thereby bringing greater coherence to regional community building overall. This analysis is partly based on field research undertaken by the author involving a series of research interviews conducted amongst adb officials and with outside analysts of the organisation. It first examines the evolution of the Bank's stance and policies on rci, and the impact made by President Kuroda and the newly formed Office of Regional Integration (orei) in this regard. The main developments of East Asia's new regionalism are then outlined from finance and trade perspectives. Thereafter, an evaluation is made of the adb's contributions toward the emerging developmental regionalism in East Asia.

Notes

1 The tradp was later transformed, or ‘re-branded’, in 2005 into the Greater Tumen Initiative (gti).

2 With the possible exception of the asean Swap Agreement (asa), a regionalised currency swap arrangement among Southeast Asian countries. But this was not even activated during the crisis because of its low-scale funding basis of only US$200 million.

3 ‘Asia's bond boomlet’, Institutional Investor, June 2006, p 96.

4 adb press release, 15 November 2006.

5 ‘Asia's bond boomlet’, pp 95–98.

6 Financial Times, 26 March 2006.

7 Some currencies, like the Chinese yuan, were not fully convertible into foreign currency because exchange restrictions applied.

8 For example, see the following speeches made by President Kuroda: ‘Emerging Asian regionalism: ten years after the crisis’, Kyoto, 4 May 2007; ‘Realistic options for Asian regional co-operation and integration’, Tokyo, 10 April 2007; ‘East Asian economic outlook and regional co-operation and integration’, Cebu, 15 January 2007; and ‘Emerging Asia and the global economy’, Amsterdam, 13 September 2006.

9 ‘Asia's bond boomlet’, p 98.