Pollution Risks Accompanied with Economic Integration of ASEAN Countries and the Fragmentation of Production Processes

Economic integration in the Southeast Asian region has been rapidly progressing resulting in an accelerating fragmentation of the production processes. Thai multinational corporations have moved factories over their national borders. Similar fragmentation arose along the US-Mexico border from the 1970s and resulted in serious industrial pollution in Mexico along the national border. This paper examines the risks of pollution accompanied with the fragmentation of the production processes. The current state of industrial areas in Cambodia and Myanmar, along the national border of Thailand, is analyzed in relation to Maquiladoras in Mexico and industrial areas in India. An international environmental agreement, similar to what was agreed upon between Mexico and the US, would seem to be the most effective way to prevent pollution.