Bangkok (AFP)

Meeting from Saturday in Bangkok, the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) hope to advance on the free trade treaty promoted by Beijing, in the middle of a trade war with Washington, tries to strengthen its influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Regional Integral Economic Partnership (RCEP) would become, if signed, the largest free trade area in the world, bringing together nearly half of the world's population and 40% of the world's Gross Domestic Product. .

Launched in 2012, but still struggling so far, the project brings together the 10 members of Asean (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia) as well as China, the India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

It excludes the United States and appears as a response to US unilateralism and the trade war between Washington and Beijing for several months.

ASEAN and its potential partners have given themselves until the end of the year to finally reach an agreement. The Bangkok summit appears as one of the last chances, while India was still reluctant Friday, worried about the massive arrival on its soil of cheap products made in China.

"The + fear of China + is a factor that plays in many countries", and not only in India, says the economic analyst of the Asian Development Bank Jayant Menon.

- Chinese influence -

For Beijing, the signing of the RCEP is crucial. Engaged in a fierce trade dispute with Washington that has already lost hundreds of billions of dollars in exports, the Chinese economy needs a new lease of life.

The deal would also be more influential in much of Asia, while the United States has been moving away from the region since Donald Trump arrived in the White House. In January 2017, the latter withdrew his country from the big project competing with the RCEP, the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement (TPP) promoted by Barack Obama.

Donald Trump will not attend the ASEAN summit, as he did last year when he was represented by Vice President Mike Pence. This time, he has sent only less important personalities: his trade secretary Wilbur Ross and his national security advisor Robert O'Brien.

This lack of consideration may not be appreciated by Southeast Asian countries, according to observers.

That Donald Trump sulks this summit two years in a row "means everything," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

And by leaving some free ground in Beijing in the region, Washington "misses an opportunity" to stay in the game, according to the analyst.

Two other hot topics should be discussed by ASEAN Heads of State: tensions in the South China Sea and the repatriation to Myanmar of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled in 2017 to Bangladesh and are afraid of being persecuted if they return home.

As the summit approaches, security in the Thai capital has been strengthened, while last August at a previous Asean meeting, several home-made bombs attributed to separatists in the far south of Thailand exploded in several waves. places in the city, making four wounded.

A total of 17,000 police and security forces were deployed.

burs-dhc / joe / del / Ith

© 2019 AFP