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| Southeast Asia |
| Asian Leaders Discuss Vast Free Trade Region |
| 2012-11-21 |
| PHNOM PENH -- Asian leaders say they will launch negotiations into what could become a massive free trade area. On Tuesday, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to launch discussions on a possible free-trade zone that could link its economies with those of China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. ASEAN leaders officially launched negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, during the last day of the leaders' summit in Cambodia Tuesday. By seeking to link major economies including China and India, with those of Southeast Asia, the move could be a step toward creating a significant, new trading bloc. China has recently taken a renewed interest in pushing forward with talks for the initiative. Observers say this could be a reaction to the ongoing U.S. strategic "pivot" toward Asia. Since the United States does not have a free trade agreement with ASEAN, it is not eligible to join talks on RCEP. Instead, Washington is pursuing a separate free trade area called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. That formation does not include China. |
| Posted by:Au Auric |