Asean-Pacific axis tabled as alternative to TPP

The US has dominated the Apec forum with its lucrative TransPacific Partnership (TPP), championed by outgoing US President Barack Obama, which comprises 12 of the 21 Apec members.
They are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
However, the future of the TPP, a US initiative to contain the dominance of China in Apec, is uncertain under president-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to shore up the US economy and review the trade agreement.
With the fate of the TPP uncertain, China has stepped up its effort to prop up the Beijing-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which excludes the Americas and includes Australia, India and more than a dozen other countries. 
The RCEP is now seen as perhaps the only path to broader free trade areas of which Apec aspires.
Given its strategic position as a member of both Asean and Apec, Indonesia has called on Apec members to consider forming a free trade bloc between Asean and the Pacific Alliance countries if Trump decides to kill the TPP.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who attended the “Second Informal Dialogue with the Pacific Alliance” session on the sidelines of the Apec Summit on Saturday, said Indonesia had officially tabled the proposal and urged countries in the two groups to consider it.
“If the TPP is voided, then Asean and Pacific Alliance members should establish a trade cooperation, which could be better than the TPP. 
“It is the right moment to think about such an alternative,” he told reporters in Lima on Saturday.
He said that although many Apec members expect Trump not to follow through on his campaign promises to end the TPP, they were still prepared with alternatives should the US, the initiator of the TPP, withdraw its commitment.
Besides the Pacific Alliance meeting, on Saturday Jusuf attended the Apec Business Advisory Council with 21 leaders of Apec countries, including Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaux, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the summit, Indonesia joined Brunei, China and New Zealand to discuss the theme of “Growing Global Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Promoting Sustainable Development”.
“The results from this discussion will be drafted as a official statement. All issues discussed during the meeting were related to the economy and business sectors. 
“The main takeaway from the forum was that we agreed to establish connectivity between domestic and international businesses,” Jusuf said.
Chinese President Xi pledged to open its economy further as leaders of Asia-Pacific countries sought new free-trade options following Trump’s promise to scrap and void the TPP.
As Obama is winding down his administration, he has now stopped trying to win congressional approval for the TPP deal, which excludes China. 
Without US approval, the current agreement cannot be implemented.
“China will not shut its doors to the outside world but instead open more doors,” Xi said in a keynote address at Apec. “We’re going to...make sure the fruits of development are shared.” he said on Saturday.
The Peru forum carries the theme “Quality Growth and Human Capital Development: Foundations for sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific”.