A series of high-level summits in the Asia-Pacific region are getting underway this week, kicking off with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and concluding with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meetings. These events, among others, are being watched closely for news of possible advances in trade and investment agendas, including on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, which are now set to continue into 2019. The ASEAN Summit this week in Singapore marks the final milestone of the city-state’s presidency of that coalition, with the chairmanship due to go to Thailand next. This year’s ASEAN meetings were convened under the tagline “Resilient and Innovative.” The regional intergovernmental bloc ASEAN is made up of 10 Southeast Asian countries, whose combined GDP was worth US$2.8 trillion last year. Its members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Among the milestones that have emerged from this week’s ASEAN Summit include the conclusion of negotiations for a long-awaited ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA), which experts say completes a package of three core pillars aimed at improving the region’s economic and sectoral integration. The other two are the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), amended...