Too many people fail to recognize Asia’s mounting global influence. Few seem to understand the potential worldwide ramifications should these nations unite. How much power would this kind of coalition ultimately boast on the world scene?
Consider these recent developments. On October 19, India said “it wants to set up an Asian economic community that would include asean countries, China, Japan, South Korea and India and would create a huge market from the Himalayas to the Pacific Ocean. ‘This is an idea whose time is fast approaching and we must be prepared for it collectively,’ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the third India-asean business summit in New Delhi” (Reuters, October 19).
This proposed Asian community would be as large as the European Union and would rival the developing Latin American Free Trade Agreement in size. As these nations rapidly form into a great trading bloc, watch for them to take on a new sense of identity and power.
Also, watch for Japan and China to become leaders in this Eastern coalition. China is actively working to ensure its ultimate control of the Asian economic community. For example, Beijing has made a deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (asean) to remove tariffs by 2010—the latest in a plan to create a China-asean free-trade zone.
Trade, economy and mutual political interests usually underpin any coalition of nations. Take the 25-nation EU for example. This evolved from the European Economic Community, which spawned from the European Coal and Steel Community. You can be sure that the development of trade and economic ties between Asian nations will act as a catalyst toward further unification of the region.
As Asian countries draw closer in trade, watch also for these nations to align politically and militarily. Consider the influence that a politically united Asia, supported by a militarily united Asia, would have on the world scene! What would be the ramifications of Japan’s superior navy combining with China’s space and nuclear technology, and both being supported by tens of millions of foot soldiers from around Asia? It would create the greatest military in history.
That is exactly what the Bible prophesies. For more on where current trade and economic agreements in Asia are leading, please request our free booklet Russia and China in Prophecy.