Asia the new superpower

She used to rely on western nations during the 20th century. Now the tides have changed.

What makes Asia the new powerhouse? Firstly, there's the developed nations(namely Singapore, Japan, South Korea), there's the developing nations(Indonesia, the Phillipines, Malaysia), and there's India and China. Now these two countries have more than 1/4 of the world's population to take care of. But they have booming economies; China has one of the largest economy in the world with a GDP of $7 trillion. It has its own resources, from agriculture to mineral resources. If its oil consumption rate isn't higher to its oil production rate, it can probably be an independent nation. India, though not as economically powerful, is another force to reckon with. Its population will surpass China's if the host of the 2008 Olympic Games does not rethink its 'one-child policy'. Japan is a world leader in technology and machinery. Second only to the US in terms of economic GDP, it is also a G8 nation.

The signs are showing, too. More people are learning Chinese or Tamil in order to do business in the future. Investments starts pouring in to the developed nations. The USA is losing its superpower status, albeit slowly.

Of course, Asia has its shortcomings. US-China relations have always been strained, with the US calling the PRC's military 'a potential threat'. North Korea's nuclear ambitions may have stopped, but only momentarily. China's carbon footprint is bigger than the US(though the US greenhouse gas production is just as high), and since its a big consumer of oil, speculators have increased the price of oil. The less-stabilised south-east asia have less developed economies and face corruption.

The EU is losing its relevance, the US is losing its dominance. Asia's progress is inevitable. Sure, countries still need one another to survive in this modern era, but the western nations are no longer the colonial powers or superpowers that we knew of. In time to come, China may be head-to-head with the US in every aspect, and Asia can easily beat the EU. It's no longer East meets West, but rather, East dominates West.

KS wazzup?(Kang Shiong)