Food and Agricultural Organization

Topic:

Dependent on trade, much of Asia has been highly affected by international economic turmoil. Amidst the rise of the Chinese economy as well as growing protectionism in major import markets such as the United States and European Union, this uncertainty is connected closely to the differing geopolitical and economic interests of nations throughout the region. Nations are increasingly being forced to make economic decisions to favor some rather than other economic centres of power, with their differing effects on the geopolitical interests of Asian nations. On the one hand, it is imperative for nations to maintain economic stability amidst massive economic turmoil. On the other, nations must think about their geopolitical interests and how they can maintain a stable economy without becoming dependent on nations with interests contrary to their own. Delegates should focus on a policy that will both improve their respective nation’s economic ends as well as their geopolitical ends.

Many nations in Asia, such as Sri Lanka, have become increasingly dependent on emerging creditor nations, such as China. These creditors, being other emerging nations, tend to have less stringent fiscal demands than traditional creditors such as the IMF. At the same time, however, they tend to be more willing to make demands that include economic takeover of strategic industries. In Sri Lanka, for instance, major ports have been seized by the Chinese government as credit for unpaid debts. Amidst this growing problem, both debtors and creditors face a situation contrary to their interests. Debtors view the situation as characterized by demands that they could not possibly fulfill, while emerging creditors, without the wealth of many traditional creditors, view default from debtors as not just undesirable but impossible to accept. Amidst this growing tension, delegates should look for a policy that provides debtors the ability to pay back their debt without disincentivizing creditors from offering money to help pay for debt.