Japan: RCEP needs strengthening to address regional trade challenges
The Japanese Ambassador to ASEAN, Yonetani Koji, believes that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) needs to be strengthened to overcome various emerging trade and investment challenges in the region. RCEP refers to the free trade agreement that brings together ASEAN member states with five trading partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
“Japan and all participating countries must engage in in-depth discussions to ensure that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership becomes a set of rules that truly addresses regional challenges,” Ambassador Yonetani stated during an interview with ANTARA in Jakarta on Thursday.
The Japanese Ambassador to ASEAN further assessed that RCEP is becoming increasingly important amidst declining global trade reliability. He emphasised the importance of ensuring that the implementation of agreed RCEP rules is carried out in a tangible and transparent manner across all participating nations.
According to him, ASEAN and its trading partners need to guarantee the real and transparent implementation of the existing regional economic partnership. “Japan is ready to support the implementation of these rules in each country, including in areas such as e-commerce, economic digitalisation, and the protection of intellectual property,” he said.
Yonetani added that RCEP member states face various trade and investment challenges, including increasing imbalances. Therefore, he considers it vital to identify the root causes so they can be addressed through the strengthening of rules within the regional economic partnership.
“We need to look at the root causes of these growing imbalances and strive to strengthen the rules integrated within this regional economic partnership,” he said.
Yonetani also highlighted the planned commencement of discussions regarding the upgrade of RCEP in 2027. In this regard, he noted that Japan, along with all participating countries, needs to be seriously involved in these discussions to ensure RCEP can serve as a framework capable of answering the various challenges faced by countries in the region.