The ties between Southeast Asian nations and China are strengthening in tandem with China's economic development. In particular, interchanges of people, goods, money and information, be they formal or otherwise, have expanded in frontier areas of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) where China borders Southeast Asian countries. To promote stable development in East Asia, it is necessary to have a good grasp of the political, economic, and societal transformations that are taking place in frontier areas from the perspective of the entire region. The objective of this project is to investigate interactions at national borders within the GMS, in collaboration with Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and cooperating entities including the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences of China and Nong Lam University of Vietnam, with a report ensuing on the transformations, along with their implications, within and outside the region.

In this fiscal year, as was the case last fiscal year, research teams consisting of researchers from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China (Yunnan Province) will be assembled and the following activities will be carried out.