The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is set to arrive at the end of 2015. It is a significant step forward and could be a crucial turning point for ASEAN. But without a strong central authority and mandate, ASEAN integration will remain in a mess and the AEC remain an illusion. The goal of the AEC is to implement economic integration initiatives by creating a single market across ASEAN nations. This requires a strong central authority that can harmonise and standardise regional regulations, and it must be recognised by all member countries.

The two leaders spoke highly of strengthened relations in a number of realms such as politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, development cooperation, and education-training, as well as the increasing number of bilateral visits in recent years. They agreed to facilitate the exchange of visits at all levels and effectively implement existing dialogue mechanisms in the fields of politics, national defence-security, economics and trade.

Pacific trading partners are deadlocked over intellectual property protections, including monopoly periods for next-generation drugs, Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Wednesday. Amari said he saw no sign of the United States backing down on a demand to protect for 12 years data used to develop biologic drugs, which are made from living cells. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb has said he sees no legitimate reason to extend past five years.

Kuala Lumpur: International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed has pledged to safeguard and uphold the core policies of Malaysia, including the interests of the Bumiputera community during the last leg of Trans Pacific Partnership talks. As negotiations are poised to wind up in Hawaii, it is also the stage when countries have to make hard decisions as well as concessions.

Democratic lawmaker Sander Levin said on Wednesday he was pushing for Pacific trading partners to do more on currency issues after the United States proposed a separate forum on ways to stop countries deliberately weakening exchange rates. Countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks are considering a U.S. proposal for finance ministers to discuss currency questions, Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said on Tuesday.

HA NOI (VNS)  — Viet Nam will strive to become one of the top five nations in international trade statistics of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by 2017. This is part of a plan for Viet Nam's integration into the ASEAN Statistics system in the 2016-20 period, as approved by the Prime Minister. According to the plan's general targets towards 2020, Viet Nam's statistics system will integrate comprehensively with the ASEAN system.

Ministers from Pacific Rim nations hoping to finalize an ambitious free trade deal this week warned on Monday that hurdles remained including intellectual property and dairy. The United States and Japan, the two biggest economies in the talks, are both keen for strong intellectual property protections, such as long copyright periods and data protection for next-generation drugs.

Resistance from a stubborn Canada and protectionist Malaysia is emerging as the biggest hurdle ahead of a crucial Trans-Pacific Partnership meeting starting in Hawaii on Tuesday. Trade negotiators believe sealing a ministerial-level deal at the TPP on the island of Maui is critical, because further delays risk negotiations dragging the talks into the US election season where populist anti-free trade rhetoric could jeopardise any deal.

Pacific Rim officials meet in Hawaii this week for talks that could make or break an ambitious trade deal which aims to boost growth and set common standards across a dozen economies ranging from the United States to Brunei. Trade ministers go into the talks, which run from July 28 to 31 on the island of Maui, with high hopes of a pact to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the most sweeping trade deal in a generation and a legacy-defining achievement for U.S. President Barack Obama.

Officials and ministers from around the Pacific are descending on Hawaii this week for what should be the final round in the negotiation of the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The big two in the arrangement — Japan and the United States — appear to have settled, and this bilateral between the two largest parties to the negotiation will be by far its most significant outcome. But there is still uncertainty about whether the agreement will be put to bed within the week and what its shape will finally be.