UK begins talks to enter Asia-Pacific trade deal while Raab courts Asean with one eye on China

In recent months, the UK’s trade and foreign policy focus has shifted towards Asia as a result of its departure from the European Union

There are currently 11 signatories to the CPTPP and the UK is seeking to become the first European country to join

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Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi. Photo: AP

Published: 8:20pm, 22 Jun 2021Updated: 8:22pm, 22 Jun 2021

The UK on Tuesday launched negotiations to join a trans-Pacific trade bloc as it seeks to explore new opportunities following its departure from the European Union and strengthen its strategic interests in Asia.

The start of talks to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), made up of 11 counties with a combined half a billion people, came as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met with his counterpart and other Vietnamese officials during his fifth visit to Southeast Asia in his current job.

The UK is also looking to attain “dialogue partnership” status with the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as it pursues a “tilt” toward the region in response to China’s growing influence on the world stage that was recommended by a recent UK government review of defence and foreign policy.

“The UK is committed to strengthening our friendship across the Indo-Pacific,” Raab said ahead of the trip. “We are demonstrating this through our commitment to join CPTPP, partner with Asean and invest more energy, time and effort in our bilateral relations in the region.”

The push comes as the region’s countries are looking for “options and alternatives” to China as their main source of capital and trading opportunities, said Euan Graham, senior fellow for Asia-Pacific security with the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ office in Singapore.

For the UK to be taken seriously it needs to show that it’s prepared to be engaged for the long-term, he said.

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