Asia-Pacific Roundup: Japan, ASEAN Meeting, Australia-India FTA Update

The past week has seen various meetings on advancing regional integration projects in the Asia-Pacific, including a new round of talks between China, South Korea, and Japan on a trilateral trade deal; a leaders’ level gathering on a planned Australia-India agreement; and a meeting between officials from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Japan, ASEAN talk RCEP How to advance talks for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was in focus during a meeting of the economic ministers of Japan and ASEAN, who met last week with a view to boosting trade-related cooperation. The 6-9 April meeting took place within the context of the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Roadshow, with visits to the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Wakayama. In an effort to bolster multilateral cooperation and growth, ministers expressed their interest in seeing a “swift conclusion” of the RCEP, a planned trade accord that would include the 10 members of ASEAN and its six free trade agreement (FTA) partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. (See Bridges Weekly, 16 March 2017 ) “The ministers shared the view that, in the headwinds against globalisation, it is imperative for a modern, comprehensive,...