Foreword

Summary

This volume is a compilation of articles written by Sanchita Basu Das, Lead Researcher for Economic Affairs in the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, over the last three years.

Sanchita has been closely tracking developments in the region around the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other regional connectivity initiatives. That is demonstrated by the depth and breadth of topics covered in the twenty-two papers in the volume.

The year 2015 has been significant in the developments in ASEAN, particularly with the AEC deadline approaching and consensus seems to being formed around the TPP negotiations, as the U.S. Congress has finally passed the bill of Trade Promotion Authority. It is important, however, to also reflect back on the road that these various agreements travelled on over the past few years. It is also important to see if the original principles and tenets on which the ideas were conceived are actually being reflected in the final versions.

This volume helps in this regard as it has focused on three key areas — the state of the AEC, external linkages beyond the AEC, and ASEAN's perspective on regional connectivity. The papers go into some depth on the issues faced in each of these areas. Thus academicians, policymakers and just about anybody who has been following the developments would get some insight on the issues.

It is difficult to predict where the future lies for ASEAN and whether its efforts around connectivity will eventually bear fruit. But providing clarity on the underlying issues and state of the economies can help the relevant people to make informed decisions.

This is what this volume seeks to do, and we hope succeeds in doing.