Special economic zones in Southeast Asia

Not long after Thailand‘s coup d'état on May 22, 2014, the junta expedited a scheme of five special economic zones (SEZ[s]) in five border towns throughout the country. Mae Sot was one of them, and its objective was to support the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and to help develop the country‘s part of the region‘s East-West Economic Corridor. The corridor is a massive 1500 km multi-lane highway linking the coasts of Vietnam and Burma/Myanmar1 through Laos and Thailand – taking advantage of the border town‘s access to Burma/Myanmar, touted to become a regional trade and transport hub for the Southeast, South, and East Asian Regions.

This book evinces that the establishment of the Mae Sot SEZ exemplifies the Thai nationstate’s attempts to exploit myriad opportunities presented by globalisation and regionalisation, all the more necessary after years of political turmoil in the country which has resulted in a severe economic downturn. While the global economy had become bleak a decade earlier,Southeast Asian nations – especially neighbouring-emerging-economies of Cambodia, Laos and Burma/Myanmar – became targets for Thailand‘s economic recovery. The materialization of land-based connectivity, facilitated by SEZs in Thailand‘s key border provinces, became instrumental to achieving this end. Based on in-depth interviews with a variety of sectors including top-level government officials from Ministries of Interior, Labour, the Department of Border Affairs, the Office of National Economic and Social Development Board, and the Bank of Thailand, as well as follow-on interviews with migrants along the Thai-Myanmar borderland, this book demonstrates the establishment of the SEZ in Mae Sot is situated on existing trammels of marginalization along the borderland. These are an intertwining relation of three elements: Otherness Without; Being Unskilled or Low-skilled; and Work Permit Covered. The book argues that unless these restrictions are eased, the fragility of marginal migrant workers‘ lives will continue. The authors suggest that the Thai state and Thai society must develop an ethos treats these marginal migrant others with tolerance and care and a fair and effective workpermit system is required. They also suggest that governments on both sides of the border must cooperate to improve the skills of these marginal migrant workers.

An up-to-date ethnographic study, this book provides an ethnic analysis and a combination of a view from below, national policy-makers and regional points of view. It will be of interest to academics interested in Southeast Asian studies, Thai studies, borderland studies, and SEZs.