PH hopes for swift conclusion of RCEP negotiations: Andanar

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said Asean member-states, as well as their six free trade agreement (FTA) partners, would have a “good and full cooperation” on trade, with the swift conclusion of discussions on the RCEP agreement. (PCOO file photo)

MANILA – The Philippines has expressed optimism that the negotiations for the crafting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact, a proposed free trade deal initiated by Southeast Asian leaders, will conclude during the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said Asean member-states, as well as their six free trade agreement (FTA) partners, would have a “good and full cooperation” on trade, with the swift conclusion of discussions on the RCEP agreement.

“The last time we were here, we were very optimistic [about RCEP]. And we continue to be so,” Andanar said in a media interview in Thailand on Wednesday.

“We have put so much time [and] effort in RCEP. Our Ministry of Trade (Department of Trade and Industry) has worked so hard in giving so many resources to the RCEP.

It has gone through multiple meetings with its counterparts in the Asia Pacific,” he added.

The negotiations for RCEP agreement were launched during the 21st Asean Summit in November 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The RCEP negotiations cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement, e-commerce, and small and medium enterprises.

However, the free trade pact is not yet signed following disagreement among the 10-man Asean and its six FTA partners.

The member-states of Asean are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Meanwhile, their six FTA partners are Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

Despite the missed deadlines, negotiations for the Asean-led free trade agreement may conclude during the third RCEP Summit on Nov. 4, Andanar said.

“A region needs to work together closely, especially in the trading of goods and services here in our region, but you know Asean is a region to [be] reckon[ed] with. We have a big population, we have a big, strong market. And we are very close to each other – a regional bloc,” the PCOO chief said.

“That is precisely the rationale for the Asean to become a strong regional bloc [and] to be able to compete with other regional blocs in bigger continents outside the Asean,” he added.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez on Oct. 18 said the RCEP agreement will likely be signed “in early 2020.”

The RCEP is envisioned as the biggest trade deal, as its 16 trading partners account for nearly 50 percent of the global population and almost one-third of world trade.

No negative impact on Summit with Trump’s absence

On the heels of new economic and security challenges in the Asean region, the White House announced that National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would represent US President Donald Trump at the regional bloc’s annual meeting and its related summits in Bangkok.

Asked if the “lack” of top-level US representation in Bangkok will send a “wrong message” to the thriving 10-nation regional bloc, Andanar said: “No, I think not.”

“The relationship between the Asean and the US goes back several decades already. And I don’t think that one meeting that is not attended as well as it used to be before will already change the relationship of the Asean and the US,” he said.

Despite issues concerning the economic growth and regional security of the countries involved in the RCEP, Andanar is confident that Southeast Asian leaders will work closely “to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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“The Asean, as a group, has several relationships not limited to the United States. It has a relationship with Russia, China, [South] Korea, and Japan, there are so many nations that you have [to work with] just continue on living. We will be fine. Asean will remain a vibrant and strong organization whether the Americans are there or not,” Andanar said.