Holy titanic trade tiffs! We got a full-on fight brewing in the Pacific between the future influencers of free trade…one that covertly has the US facing off against China…and you probably didn’t hear a damn thing about it in the US news yet, have you? Was it just a coincidence that all major US officials have been visiting Australia and ASEAN in the last week? Not. Just after the big ASEAN meeting came the bigger EAS meeting, and then on the tail end of that came a surprise announcement: a RCEP trade block is forming up, the largest free trade zone EVER, and it does not include the US! Listen to the Professor rant about how this RCEP is now competing against the TPP for control of the Asia-Pacific soul! And holla back if you are interested at all in this interesting squall!
Keywords: ASEAN, EAS, RCEP, TPP, US, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Burma, trade, trade blocks, free trade, New Zealand, India, East Asia Summit, Southeast Asia
The Russian throw-down has officially occurred:! Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it crystal clear (through words, actions, and official visits) that he sees Russia’s future in the East, not the West. Listen as the Professor points out all the Puin moves that make this assessment entirely obvious….including multiple disses of Team West on the G-8, on Syria, and on missile defense, while further embracing China, the SCO, and a “Eurasian Trade Union.”
Putin sez: “The fundamental interests [of Moscow and Beijing] coincide broadly both in international and economic affairs.”
Hu Jintao sez: “I am firmly convinced that your visit will contribute to further development of all-embracing strategic partnership and cooperation.”
Can you feel the love? I can smell it from here.
In completely unrelated stories, there is suddenly a flurry of protest activity this week by pissed off indigenous peeps that are creating a bit of chaos on two different continents. In China, pro-Tibetan-rights peeps are facing of against a crushing Chinese military presence in Tibet and Sichuan; and in Australia, pro-Aboriginal-rights groups had a bizarrely brazen “attack” on Aussie Prime Minister Julia Gillard! Crikey! The Professor covers a bit of background on these events and offers some hypotheses about why that are happening now, and what they are all about.
As promised last podcast, the Professor now looks forward to the new year of 2012 to inform you of the details of the significant shift of world leadership going down in the next 365 days. From new leaders to be tested in North Korea, Italy and Spain; to election cycles in US, Mexico, France, Russia, and Taiwan; to major turnovers in China, Palestine and possibly Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen…the parade of new faces started in 2011 is going to be accelerated significantly in the coming year, and the Professor wants you to be in the know!
The big annual Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit was held in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 29/30, and an array of international stars were in attendance!!! Everybody wants to do business with ASEAN! From China to Japan to India to Australia to Russia, all major East Asian and Pacific regional powers want a piece of the action. On top of that, the East Asia Summit (EAS) now takes place directly after the ASEAN party, and it focuses on regional stability/defense issues…a group that includes the Russians and Americans too! Damn! ASEAN is the Asian shizzle!
Bottom line: As Asia’s star continues to rise and they become the center of international action, ASEAN is becoming the anchor for trade and regional stability…a combo EU and UN, but for East Asia!
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