ABSTRACT
The title of this chapter suggests opposition, or at least tension, between processes of economic integration based on two different concepts of region, one of an East Asian region and the other of an Asia Pacific region embracing both sides of the Pacific Ocean. In fact matters are far more complicated. Within East Asia a number of different approaches to economic integration are being pursued, with considerable uncertainty over whether these represent separate competing processes or multiple strands of a single process. Other economies in the wider Asia Pacific region are also taking multi-faceted approaches to economic integration. This chapter endeavours to summarise these trends. It goes on to examine the effects of East Asian integration on the Asia Pacific, looking at economic effects by means of computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis and then addressing broader strategic issues. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the relationship between economic integration in East Asia and liberalisation at the APEC and multilateral levels.
