Furqan Khan
Mr. Furqan Khan is an undergraduate student of International Relations at the National Defence University, Pakistan.
DOI: http://DOI Number
Keywords: Asia-Pacific Region, China, RCEP, economy, free trade, Noodle Bowl Effect, ASEAN, QUAD, strategic ambiguity, the US.
Abstract
RCEP consolidates the strategically sensitive Asia-Pacific Region into the world’s largest free trade bloc, where China is rising under the sceptic observation of the United States and its likeminded allies in the region. The newly signed agreement offsets the externalities of the Noodle Bowl Effect of multiple free trade agreements under ASEAN+1 formula as well as enhances regional economic integration. The RCEP, on the one hand, gives China the opportunity to link regional economies including those of the regional opponents like Japan and South Korea. This helps China to discourage the US-led regional opposition to its rise in the Asia-Pacific Region. On the other hand, the substantial neglect towards multilateralism may weaken America’s position vis-a-vis China, in addition to direct and indirect implications. Therefore, the paper looks into the strategic importance of the RCEP and its role in shaping the relative influence of both the great powers i.e. China’s rise and declining credibility of the American opposition to it. It attempts to address the following questions: what is the RCEP and its role in regional economic integration? How does the RCEP bring economic and geopolitical benefits for China? Why is the RCEP a precursor to the decline in the US influence in the Asia-Pacific Region? And what are the fundamental contours of the RCEP in shaping geopolitical trends across the Asia-Pacific region and its impact on the Sino[1]American geopolitical competition? The paper concludes that a successful RCEP amplifies the strategic ambiguity among regional US allies and strategic partners in their commitment to counter China and will further weaken the credibility of the American efforts to contain China’s rise in the Asia-Pacific region.
First Published
September 25, 2020
How to Cite
Furqan Khan, “Geopolitics of RCEP and the Sino-American Competition in the Asia-Pacific,” Regional Studies 38, no.3 (Autumn 2020): 26-48, https://regionalstudies.com.pk/wp/article/geopolitics-of-rcep-and-the-sino-american-competition-in-the-asia-pacific/
Issue
Volume 38, Issue 3