國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

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Since  the  1990s,  a  resurgence  of  interest  in  regionalism  has  occurred  on  thepart of policy makers, business executives, and scholars. In terms of regionalism inEast Asia, this paper, first of all, discusses regionalism and its related words. In fact,region, regionalization, and regionalism are concepts that both are intertwined withone  another  and  have  complex  meanings  that  include  geographic,  linguistic,discursive, cultural, economic, political, cognitive, and constructivist connotations.Secondly,  this  paper  focuses  on  East  Asian  cooperation.  And  it  seems  that  EastAsian regionalism has not yet been institutionalized. The discussion is divided intofive parts. (A) ASEAN Free Trade Area implemented in 1992 has not achieved itsoriginal purposes. After the financial crises of 1997, AIA (ASEAN Investment Area)Framework  Agreement  in  1998  was  planned  to  promote  FDI.  However,  someuncertain factors might block the FDI. (B) APEC has now enlarged its membershipto 21. Being under-institutionalized, APEC has not functioned well in terms of itsprojects. Inevitably, centrifugal forces could hinder future cooperation within APEC.(C) ASEAN Plus One (China) had not been formalized until 1997. Since ASEANhas been competing with China for foreign trade and FDI during the past decade,how to ameliorate mutual relationship and increase economic benefits on both sideswill be a challenge in the future. (D) The term “ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan,and South Korea)” has been broadly used since 1999. However, the success of thisassociation will depend on whether China gives up her historical resentment againstJapan  and  is  willing  to  solve  conflicting  interests  with  Japan.  (E)  The  newbilateralism has been emerged recently along with the development of regionalismin  East  Asia.  The  most  active  country  in  signing  bilateral  trade  agreements  isSingapore. Whether this trend will counter regionalism in the opposite direction willbe tested in the future. Finally, if the deepening of East Asian regionalism can be seen in the future, this paper argues that, from the perspective of security and peace,the  enhancement  of  economic  cooperation  in  East  Asia  will  depend  on  theconsolidation  of  commercial  institutions  and  the  increase  of  mutual  investmentamong the East Asian countries.