international relations - Asia is not a second Europe,

The question came up more than once now Europe has been able to get its economic act more or less together: why is Asia not doing the same. There is a missing link, as the Business Times in Singapore describes it today. While Japan and China are independently looking for trade agreements in the region, there is no way at this stage the two countries would even think of including each other.
The difference between Europe and Asia is that Europe has more a common history than Asia. Despite the destructive wars in Europe, there is still a common basis that is lacking in Asia. The relation between Japan and China has always been a tense one, but also India seems not really comfortable in those talks on free trade agreements.
Asia was in the end an European concept, that might not have so much common ground in the continent itself.