ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the trends toward economic integration in Southeast and East Asia and the responses at the subregional level against the background of developments in the areas of international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region. Cross-border cooperation and economic integration have become a distinctive trend at various levels of the global space economy. Conflicts and uncertainties for regional integration remain as a result of cultural differences, historical factors, political conflicts, and differences in levels of economic development. Significant changes in the organization of economic space as a result of growing economic internationalization have presented themselves in Pacific Asia since the mid-1980s. The complementary nature of the stages of development in the various economies in Pacific Asia has been a significant factor stimulating FDI in the region. The process of subregionalism is closely related to the industrial restructuring of the Southeast and East Asian newly industrializing economies.
