North America has had one voice ever since the late 1800s. The European Union has spoken with one voice since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989; although the Union itself was officially formed in 1992. Today, these two economies with their Western Allies, with less than 15% of the global population, control more than 65% of the global economy. On the other hand, Asia, which accounts for two-thirds of the global population, has a meager share of 22% in the global economy, even after including Japan, the only significant Asian economy of size and scale that alone contributes to 45% of the Asian share.
At the same time, Asia has more than 70% of the world's proven oil reserves, and produces more than 50% of the present oil production; expectedly it consumes less than 50% of its produce. Also, Asian economies hold a staggering $2.9 tn of foreign exchange reserves.
All the wars in the last 30-odd years were fought in Asia, barring one in Yugoslavia. What is also interesting is that, apart from the one war between Iraq and Iran, the US was involved (directly or indirectly) in all the others. And now there is another Middle East war involving Israel and Lebanon (and Israel and Palestine) behind the proxy war of others.
Wars are always bad as they ruin the economies because the resources of the countries are mostly focused on war. Are Asians squabbling amongst themselves and, thereby, not reaching their full potential in the global economy? It is high time they realized it. Calling people Europeans, Americans, or Africans are all attempts to divide humanity. However when humanity is viewed differently across the world, an Asian identity helps to leverage the Asian resources better. |
