Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will assume leadership of ASEAN this year, and bring with him a positive attitude towards China and a recent history of disengagement with the West. Observers expect that the regional organization’s agenda will turn away from topics that will directly challenge China’s influence over Southeast Asia.
The potential benefits of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership are uncertain in some sectors like e-commerce and for many workers, due to limitations in its scope, experts say.
The RCEP is the largest free trade agreement in global history - but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing for China and its partners in Southeast Asia.
Secretary of state will visit Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand with discussions to include the crisis in Myanmar, and ‘strengthening regional security infrastructure in response to PRC bullying in the South China Sea’.
After excluding Myanmar from its latest summit, Asean announced a strategic partnership with China and a similar deal with Australia, the US’ security partner. Clearly, the bloc continues to walk a tightrope between the US and China.