EAST ASIA

1. Of late, Southeast Asia has come into prominence as the “ Second Front “ in the global war on terrorism following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in New York. This is due to the discovery in late 2001 of the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah network that planned to destabilized several regional governments and set up a pan-Islamic caliphate encompassing the Malay archipelago. The deadly Bali bomb attatck on 12 October 2002 has brought the region into focus as a frontline in war on international terrorism. There is today growing international recognition of the strategic importance of Southeast Asia as the Malay Archipelago has the world’s largest population of Muslims. Moreover, a very significant proportion of world trade and oil traverses the region’s vital waterways and are vulnerable to terrorist attack and piracy.

2. The most striking characteristic of the East Asia :
- Preoccupation with sovereignty and security,
- Close ties between business and gov
- Its internal heterogeneity,
- Its distinctiveness from other regions,
- Its diversity in terms of living standards, political system and religious belief.