Asian Geographic Issue 03/2018 (131) | Page 9

Features
sports and politics
76
PHOTO © UN PHOTO/YUTAKA NAGATA
ASEAN
ASian games
76 Casual Beginnings
46 Playing for Power
The words “Asian Games” most often conjure up images of
athletes engaged in daring sporting endeavours. But what
of the chequered past of this continental event? A closer
inspection of its history reveals a political tapestry deeply
reflective of member states’ relations with one another It was at the dinner table and golf course where ASEAN truly took
shape, born of a new brand of informal diplomacy that would later
characterise Southeast Asian politics. In these relaxed settings, its
founders held casual conversations that carried the weight of regional
fates, and a small suggestion kick-started half a century of peace
BY VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS BY VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS
On the cover
South Korean athlete Lee Hui-sol
competes in the Women’s +75kg
weightlifting final at the 17th Asian
Games in Incheon, South Korea
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