The Sino-Southeast Asian–Australasian Necklace: Critical Junctures, Branding Cities, and Entrepreneurial Leadership

Abstract

The ending of WWII saw a new regional order in Asia, as western colonialism steadily faded. The founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967 was a hallmark of cooperative development, with membership increasing from the original five states to the present ten. The ASEAN+3 cooperating countries now encompass China, Japan, and Korea, while other economies may join in the near future (ASEAN+, including Australia and New Zealand). The well-developed nation-states of Australasia have long recognized that they are a part of Asia and have been playing active roles, accordingly, since the 1970s. The collective spirit of cooperation and entrepreneurship of all leaders, the vast natural resources, and diverse cultures and history will, if properly governed, overcome many of the present hardships. In this chapter, what we propose as the Sino-Southeast Asia Necklace has the potential to develop into a huge regional economy outside of North America and Europe. With unique economic and geopolitical potential, the Hong Kong–Macau–Pearl River Delta (HK-MO-PRD complex, with Hong Kong as the Super-Connector of China), Laos (epicenter in Indochina), and Darwin (Gateway to Australia) are the gems chosen as exemplars to demonstrate challenges and opportunities facing the Asia Pacific Rim. We identify some of the environmental factors and knowledge gaps from the Hong Kong perspective, summarize the development implications, and set some of the conditions for a paradigm shift in cultural change to enable more profound development.