TPP to, probably, affect ASEAN's centrality

BANGKOK, December 20 (TNA) - A senior Thai academic has warned Thailand and other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of, probably, negative impacts from their signing of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement. Speaking at a seminar organised in Bangkok by Thammasat University, Prapat Thepchatree, Director of the university's ASEAN Studies Center, suggested that Thailand not enter the TPP, as he believed, the TPP would hinder ASEAN from achieving its centrality due to the agreement’s high recruiting standard, which would make it hard for those of emerging economies to join. Currently, there have been four ASEAN members, namely Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, which have expressed their interests in joining the TPP, while Thailand has only agreed to join its negotiations. Wisarn Pupphavesa, Senior Advisor to Thailand Development Research Institute or TDRI, shared his opinions, on the other hand, that TPP could become a stimulus measure to help transform traditional trade practices; so, he believed that the signing of the TPP would not affect relations between ASEAN and the United States and China and would not damage ASEAN institution, either, reasoning if ASEAN failed to build its centrality, it would then be the 10-member bloc's fault for being unable to create a balanced climate within the region. Meanwhile, those who support the signing have urged the Thai government not to hesitate and take it as an opportunity to expedite negotiations for national and public interests. Launched in 2005, TPP is considered to be one of agreements which have maintained Washington's engagement with Asia, while mitigating China's economic and trade influence in East Asia. Such the high-class agreement encourages members to accept more stringent environmental and labor standards, liberalization of the service sector and stricter intellectual property rights protection. (TNA)