A new Asia
Last week bore witness to two significant events in Asia: the Inter-Korea Summit and the China-India Summit.
For a while now, the world has been discussing North Korea and its nuclear plans. Despite pushes for the country’s denuclearisation, there have, up until now, been no signs of action in that area.
In a surprise move, the leaders of North and South Korea met on April 27 in Panmunjom, a military compound in the Demilitarised Zone.
This was the first meeting of its kind in the 65 years since the Korean War began.
The result was a declaration that there would be no more wars on the Korean Peninsula; there would be more frequent bilateral visits and discussions on cooperation.
What better than to see North and South Korea jointly participate in the 2018 Asian Games?
Time will tell if this will be as significant as the fall of the Berlin Wall. South and North Korea surely have an even deeper wound to mend.
But this is a good first step – for more peace in Asia, and potentially for lifting North Korea out of poverty.
Market expansion might also do wonders for South Korea. It has twice as many people as the North, and the combined population of the two would be 75 million – more than the UK, France and Italy.
This summit is also good news for China – not that China isn’t busy enough with its dealings with the US.
At the same time as the Inter-Korea Summit, China was having conversations with India as it hosted India’s prime minister.
The relationship between China and India has been under strain because of India’s growing trade deficits and also because of China’s presence in the region around its One Belt One Road projects.
Most of India’s neighbours, such as Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, are deemed to be ‘‘pro-China’’. India is not fully comfortable with that.
This latest summit promises to start a new chapter in China-India ties.
China is India’s largest trading partner. India has great potential for growth, and China would welcome more cooperation, so long as trade deficits do not become larger for India.
These two events show Asian countries seeking to iron out their differences, and to avoid further conflicts.
There are plenty of economic incentives for them to do so. Intra-Asia trade is already rising – imagine a region with fewer conflicts. Will we start to see a new Asia?