Along with the threat of conflict in the Asia-Pacific region owing to access to fresh water is the decline of fertile agricultural land. Agricultural land is not only the source of actual food for the subsistence of the populations from whence it is yielded but also the source of employment and in turn income for a huge proportion of the population in the Asia-Pacific region. There are currently dozens of deals being cut between rich or powerful countries with shortages of fertile land or in fact viable sources of water for farming and smaller less affluent countries with abundant land and water supplies in order to secure future agricultural production (White, 2014, p. 837). This is seemingly a solution to expected food shortages in countries
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The first to profit from such deals will inevitable look to purchase more from neighboring countries at lower prices in order to continue the business. As an example in the rich agricultural lands of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam primarily along the Mekong river, conflict could either result between these states to secure the bulk of the land or conflict will ensue internally between the state and private land owners when land is potentially re-possessed and sold. As it stands these countries are members of ASEAN and provided they individually resist the urge to concede to Chinese or Middle Eastern influence they together hold valuable swathes of precious agricultural land in much the same way they along with several other ASEAN countries combine to control significant portions of the south China sea (Dokken, 2010, p. 513). As a united association they hold considerable power to trade for mutual gain but the risk is that national deals will be struck with not only China but also many Middle Eastern countries that will result in the loss of ownership of valuable agricultural land for the Asia-Pacific …show more content…
China for one can certainly not be allowed to monopolise the mining and processing of fossil fuels in the region otherwise there will absolutely be conflict between lesser nations for control of what is remaining. Additionally global mining companies must not be allowed to purchase and retain ownership of renewable energy technology in order to stage its replacement of fossil fuels in order to manipulate the price of remaining supplies. This should be government owned and publicly funded in the same way that telephone and railway lines once were in Australia as an example, so as to ensure availability for all people for the common good. It is noted that the reality is that renewable energy technology is not advanced enough to make it a cheap alternative for the mass market at this point in time, however national and regional investment in making it so should be a priority (Droege, P. 2002,
The first to profit from such deals will inevitable look to purchase more from neighboring countries at lower prices in order to continue the business. As an example in the rich agricultural lands of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam primarily along the Mekong river, conflict could either result between these states to secure the bulk of the land or conflict will ensue internally between the state and private land owners when land is potentially re-possessed and sold. As it stands these countries are members of ASEAN and provided they individually resist the urge to concede to Chinese or Middle Eastern influence they together hold valuable swathes of precious agricultural land in much the same way they along with several other ASEAN countries combine to control significant portions of the south China sea (Dokken, 2010, p. 513). As a united association they hold considerable power to trade for mutual gain but the risk is that national deals will be struck with not only China but also many Middle Eastern countries that will result in the loss of ownership of valuable agricultural land for the Asia-Pacific …show more content…
China for one can certainly not be allowed to monopolise the mining and processing of fossil fuels in the region otherwise there will absolutely be conflict between lesser nations for control of what is remaining. Additionally global mining companies must not be allowed to purchase and retain ownership of renewable energy technology in order to stage its replacement of fossil fuels in order to manipulate the price of remaining supplies. This should be government owned and publicly funded in the same way that telephone and railway lines once were in Australia as an example, so as to ensure availability for all people for the common good. It is noted that the reality is that renewable energy technology is not advanced enough to make it a cheap alternative for the mass market at this point in time, however national and regional investment in making it so should be a priority (Droege, P. 2002,