This article examines the educational policy responses by five western countries/regions to the "Asian economic miracle" in the 1990s. It begins by stating that the idea of the global economic context has assumed considerable importance in the current educational thinking and debates. It then shows that Asia has been thematized in the west as a challenge that must be accommodated as a matter of significant economic interests. The country/region specific analyses, in the aggregate, demonstrate that "educating for location" has been the driving force behind the policy to become Asia-literate. This instrumental approach is suggested as having a limiting influence on the sustainability of the policy initiatives. This paper underlies the need for a greater effort to make the proposed literacy reform educationally relevant and valid. Additionally, the recent events of 9/11 and the Bali bombings may have the effect of exacerbating the process.