Asean, the unlikely beneficiary of East Asian giants’ rivalry

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang attending the business summit at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul. — Reuters

IN their joint declaration that capped their trilateral summit on May 27, host South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang paid much attention to the strategic importance of Asean, apparently because the three leaders found it impossible to find common ground on North Korea, the Taiwan Strait and other regional security threats.

One of the prominent examples of their common view on Asean is their agreement to use the Asean-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), billed as the world’s largest free trade agreement, as the basis for their negotiations to reach a much more sophisticated trade pact among them.