The State of Negotiations on the Transpacific Free-trade Agreement in Southeast Asia
This article looks at the progress made on the draft transpacific free-trade agreement and the motivations driving the Southeast Asian countries. We seek to explain why it has been so difficult, if not impossible, to implement an agreement officially adopted by four Asean countries. Our hypothesis is that countries in Southeast Asia, where China and the United States are embroiled in a geopolitical battle, join forces only when self-interest dictates. This prevents them from collectively seizing the opportunity that this new era in international cooperation presents. Most of all, the treaty attests to the dwindling influence of the United States in Southeast Asia and highlights China’s policy of assertiveness and its power of attraction.