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Book Review: The Global Rise of Asian Transformation: Trends and Developments in Economic Growth Dynamics edited by Pongsank Hoontrakul, Christopher Balding and Reena Marwah

China Report 52, 2 (2016): 151–178 uneven sharing of benefits within and between countries, the importance of involving a wider set of stakeholders in the planning process, the emotive issue of the cross-border movement of labour, the costs of project displacement, rising income inequalities, issues of food security and so on—all of them concerns requiring coordinated mitigation planning ab initio. The second monograph considered here is the ASEAN-India Development and Cooperation Report, 2015, prepared by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi. Building on the 2010 India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and working towards instituting a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), this detailed technical study reflects India’s intent to play a more proactive role in Asia through a stronger partnership with the ASEAN countries. Thematically, the study covers much of the ground of the former volume, but from an India-centric, rather than a regional, perspective. There is thus greater emphasis on patterns and policies for services trade, including removal of barriers to the free movement of skilled labour and professionals through the negotiation of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs), and on the present endogenous and exogenous constraints on India’s participation in international production networks (IPNs). Interestingly, the final three chapters go beyond the hard stuff of regional trade flows to discuss at length the potential of science and technology cooperation over a range if themes; the very serious challenge to national food security and food reserves under new trading regimes; and finally, cooperation in the areas of education, culture and tourism, leveraging India’s ‘soft power’ advantages in the region. In short, these two technical assessments of Indian/South Asian regional integration with the ASEAN states provide both an overview of the past and a blueprint for the future. It remains to be seen whether the Government of India can shake off its reputation for high-sounding rhetoric but sluggish action, and carry through to completion the many regional connectivity projects on the drawing board.