THE Philippines has expressed support for the expansion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), saying this is an essential element in the drive by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for a more resilient, competitive and inclusive regional economy.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in a statement on Monday said Secretary Cristina Roque expressed this in her remarks at the special Asean-Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Caucus on May 15 in Jeju, South Korea.
The 15-member RCEP groups the 10 Asean member-states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), plus Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. They aim to promote open trade and regional economic integration. Together, RCEP members account for about 30 percent of global GDP and 30 percent of the world’s population, making it the world’s largest free trade agreement.
The DTI said Roque reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to regional economic cooperation and free trade.
RCEP, signed by participating countries in 2020, came into force in the Philippines in June 2023.
RCEP expansion discussed
The Caucus had no official statement on the expansion plans for RCEP, but news reports from Malaysia’s Bernama quoted Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz as saying the matters discussed included the expansion of RCEP membership.
The DTI did not respond to queries on the details of the Philippines’ support to expand RCEP membership.
The DTI in its free trade agreement (FTA) portal said Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Chile have applied for RCEP membership.
“If Sri Lanka and Chile join RCEP as member countries,
the Philippines will benefit by adding two new FTA trading partners without the need for separate FTA negotiation processes,” the website added.
In the case of Hong Kong, the Asean Hong Kong FTA is already in effect, the DTI said.
The DTI website added the Philippines and Sri Lanka are currently engaged in bilateral trade, but the scale remains relatively small.
However, if Sri Lanka becomes a member of RCEP, there is likely to be significant advancements in their trade relationship, the agency added.
“If Chile joins the RCEP agreement, it will have a significant impact by enabling Filipino companies to expand their operational reach to promising markets in Latin America on the other side of the globe, and by helping to diversify their export markets while building the necessary infrastructure for this expansion,” the DTI website added.
“More than ever, Asean must stand united as a stabilizing force and proactive partner in shaping the evolving global order,” Roque was quoted by the DTI in the statement as saying in her remarks.
Global economic challenges
The DTI said during the meeting, Asean and APEC ministers discussed regional and national responses to global economic challenges.
“The Philippines remains resolute to ensuring that Asean’s collective actions are timely, strategic, and responsive to the dynamic global economy,” Roque said.
The Asean Ministerial Caucus forms part of Asean’s broader efforts to coordinate economic policies and advance Vision 2045, which outlines the region’s long-term goals for a united and resilient economy across Southeast Asia, the DTI said in the statement.
The Philippines will chair Asean in 2026 under the regional bloc’s rotating leadership.
In an article published Sunday by the East Asia Forum, the authors — Shiro Armstrong, a professor at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, and Rebecca Sta Maria, executive director of the APEC secretariat in Singapore — said RCEP, created to promote open trade and regional integration, offers a powerful platform to resist rising global protectionism.
“As the US-China trade war threatens regional growth, ASEAN economies can use RCEP to defend their interests in the rules-based trading system and assert ASEAN centrality,” they said, adding it might “now be the asset the region needs at a time of genuine crisis for defending the vision of open trade and cooperation that it embodies.”
