Southeast Asian leaders start meetings today that are expected to lead to an ambitious China-backed trade deal as the still uncertain election result in the United States leaves questions over America's engagement in the region. Leaders of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations join China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand in concluding talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership this Sunday. The summit comes while the result of the US presidential election has yet to be declared despite Joe Biden projected to have comfortably won the 270 electoral votes needed for victory. But legal challenges to the election result and the firing of the US defense secretary by President Donald Trump risk raising concerns among allies at a time when China's influence is growing. Trump's tariff-raising trade war with China has given extra impetus in recent years to push ahead with the RCEP, which had otherwise progressed sluggishly since negotiations began in 2012.

Source: The Standard November 11, 2020 19:07 UTC