Important economic and strategic realignments are taking place in Asia but receiving relatively limited press and academic attention. Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea were dealt, well publicized, blows by the 1997 Asian financial crisis and Japan's stagnation in the 1990s has also been widely analyzed. What has not been adequately explored is the impact of economic restructuring and slowing of growth rates in the other Pacific Rim economies, notably Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Although China's rise to prominence has received extensive commentary from journalists, economists and strategic analysts, much more limited attention has been given to the relative decline of the Pacific Rim states or the rapid rise of India's economic and strategic position. This volume attempts to explain why the 1997 financial crisis was such a critical turning point and, unexpectedly, ended up stimulating trade and investment within Asia.

This book provides an arresting interpretation of the history of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific from the earliest settlements to the present. Usually viewed in isolation, these societies are covered here in a single account, in which the authors show how the peoples of the region constructed their own identities and influenced those of their neighbours.
By broadening the focus to the regional level, this volume develops analyses - of economic, social and political history - which transcend
national boundaries. The result is a compelling work which both describes the aspirations of European settlers and reveals how the dispossessed and marginalized indigenous peoples negotiated their own lives as best they could. The authors demonstrate that these stories are not separate but rather strands of a single history.

Important economic and strategic realignments are taking place in Asia but receiving relatively limited press and academic attention. Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea were dealt, well publicized, blows by the 1997 Asian financial crisis and Japan's stagnation in the 1990s has also been widely analyzed. What has not been adequately explored is the impact of economic restructuring and slowing of growth rates in the other Pacific Rim economies, notably Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Although China's rise to prominence has received extensive commentary from journalists, economists and strategic analysts, much more limited attention has been given to the relative decline of the Pacific Rim states or the rapid rise of India's economic and strategic position. This volume attempts to explain why the 1997 financial crisis was such a critical turning point and, unexpectedly, ended up stimulating trade and investment within Asia.

This book demonstrates the connection between economic and strategic developments in Asia with several, interrelated arguments. The author asserts that there is no single explanation for the 1997 financial crisis in the Pacific Rim states, nor for the slow recovery afterwards. The author also points out that China is not the only major power rising in Asia; India is close behind, and warns that while many observers are proceeding as if current U.S. treaties will continue indefinitely, Asia is already preparing for changing patrons.