【正文】
and enhancing mutual interests and interdependence is obviously the best way to erode the ASEAN states’ perception of the ‘China threat’. But China must not neglect the interests of Japan and South Korea, The ASEANChina Free Trade Area: genesis and implications 275 and 8 underestimate ASEAN’s resistance to the exclusion of the US and its desire to maintain a balance of power in the region. For China and many ASEAN members, economic development remains themost important source of legitimacy for the governments and ruling elites. The ASEANChina Free Trade Area therefore has to deliver not only in terms of economic growth but, hopefully, it should also facilitate the narrowing of the gap between the more developed and the developing ASEAN members, as wellas that between the more prosperous coastal provinces and the poor interior provinces in China. Economic cooperation is expected to generate the goodwill and trust to contain the territorial disputes among the parties concerned, and to promote cooperation in the handling of transnational problems such as environmental protection, drugrelated crimes, etc. The agreement to establish the ASEANChina Free Trade Area represents a challenge to what can be achieved in the mutual engagement process. In the longer term, the development may generate new domestic coalitions and regional coalitions in support of stronger regional economic cooperation. 。 and it is considered that economic stagnation in Japan and its trade protectionism may hamper the implementation of the the same day of the ASEANJapan joint declaration, India also agreed to establish a free trade area with ASEAN during its ?rst summit with the regional anisation. India became a full dialogue partner with ASEAN in 1995, but it had not been involved in the regional economic integration efforts before. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen believed that trade and investment ties with India would especially help the newer and poorer members of ASEAN, as he was concerned with the emergence of a twotier ASEAN South Korea was certainly a bit slow, though it was discussing a 7 similar free trade pact with ASEAN during the summit process, and it acknowledged that imports of marine and agricultural products from Southeast Asia posed a problem. Meanwhile, Malaysian opposition continues to be a hurdle to Australian participation in ASEAN. Though Singapore failed in its endorsement of Australian membership, it was able to make ASEAN agree to consider a separate summit with Australia. Globalization provides a useful conceptual and analytical tool in the context of the progressive intensi?cation of transnational economic, political, social and cultural interactions. While it has been steadily breaking down temporal and geographic barriers, and in the process enhances interconnectedness or interdependence, it has also been exacerbating mutual vulnerabilities. The AsiaPaci?c region’s vulnerabilities to the consequences of globalization were vividly revealed by its ?nancial crisis in 1997–1998. The stability and prosperity constituting the Asian economic miracle were threatened, and the legitimacy of many regimes in the region based on economic development was severely shaken. A