ASEAN to consider Japan-China proposal for Asia-wide FTA+

MANADO, Aug. 13 Kyodo -
Economic ministers from Asian countries said they will take into account a joint proposal by China and Japan on ways to forge a regional free trade area in the future but stopped short of adopting outright a suggestion for the establishment of three working groups to study specific sectors for the creation of the FTA, according to a statement released Saturday.
''The ministers welcomed and exchanged views on the joint proposal by China and Japan,'' said a statement on the ASEAN-plus-three ministerial meeting that was held Friday on the sidelines of the annual meeting of ASEAN economic ministers in the capital city of Indonesia's North Sulawesi province.
But the ministers also ''reiterated the importance of ASEAN centrality in the expanded regional economic integration process,'' it added.
ASEAN officials said the group decided not to immediately accept the suggestion in the joint proposal for the three working groups to study the consolidation of ASEAN's existing FTAs with individual countries outside the region in the areas of trade in goods, trade in services and investment.
The main reason cited is that the group would like to play a central role in designing the regional FTA, instead of allowing countries outside the group to take over the helm, and have already started to prepare their own report on the structure for the FTA.
The statement said the ministers ''noted that ASEAN is still working on the structure and template for the (regional FTA) and is taking into account the joint proposal by China and Japan in developing recommendations by November 2011,'' when the ASEAN leaders summit and other related meetings with countries outside the region will be held.
They ''looked forward to considering the ASEAN-proposed structure and template for the (regional FTA) alongside the joint proposal by China and Japan'' and have instructed their senior officials to meet in November specially to consider these proposals, the statement said.
Some ASEAN countries are also hesitant to move too quickly on an East Asia-wide FTA amid current global economic uncertainties and also amid fears of being swamped with goods from China, ASEAN officials said.
Another reason is that setting up the three working groups immediately would add to the burden of ASEAN countries, especially developing member countries like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia which are already struggling to cope with four working groups set up by ASEAN in 2009 to study ways to consolidate ASEAN's current FTAs with countries outside the region as the basis for the future FTA, the officials said.
==Kyodo