Bangkok—Southeast Asian leaders gathered in Bangkok on Saturday determined to drive forward the world’s largest commercial pact, with the trade war between the US and China clouding the outlook for their export-led economies.
Disputes in the flashpoint South China Sea, Myanmar’s persecution of Rohingya Muslims and plastic pollution in the seas are also set to be discussed at the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, chaired by Thailand.
But trade will take center stage with ASEAN leaders keen to hasten the signing of a China-drafted commercial deal covering around half the world’s population.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership includes all 10 ASEAN economies, plus India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
It is seen as a mechanism for China to draft the rules of Asia-Pacific trade, following a US retreat from the region.
Shortly after his election, President Donald Trump pulled the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership— which would have been the world’s largest trade deal—slamming it as an American “job killer.”
While tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s biggest two economies have seen some manufacturers flee China to safer ASEAN hubs, economists say the big picture for global growth is bleak.
In that context, “RCEP is key to increasing trade volume,” Thai government spokesman Werachon Sukhondhapatipak told reporters.
“The faster it [RCEP] gets implemented the better,” Martin Andanar, Philippines Communications secretary, told reporters.
“Free trade is definitely what we need here in this region,” he said, adding that the US-China trade row has resulted in “the entire world catching a cold.”
Progress on the deal has stuttered in recent months with India digging in over fears cheap Chinese goods could flood its massive consumer market.
Australia and New Zealand have also raised concerns over a lack of labor and environmental safeguards.
The bloc is also poised to agree on a declaration to “prevent and significantly reduce” marine debris—including plastic—across the region, according to a draft text seen by AFP.
Though the statement is the first of its kind for the region, which dumps millions of tons of plastic waste into the ocean every year, activists fear it doesn’t go far enough in curbing single-plastic use.
Regional leaders are also set to tackle thorny South China Sea issues at the weekend meet, with a draft Code of Conduct agreement up for review, though observers doubt any major progress will me made to inch the deal closer to completion.
Discussions around the resource-rich waterway that Beijing claims most of were overshadowed by a recent dust-up in the sea between a Chinese ship that rammed a Filipino fishing boat.
Manila said a joint investigation into the incident has been launched, adding that the run-in would not derail Code of Conduct talks.
