Impacts of East Asian Economic Integration on APEC–Taiwan’s Role and Strategy

Impacts of East Asian Economic Integration on APEC–Taiwan’s Role and Strategy

In addition to exploring the development of emerging East Asian economic integration, this paper argues that the rise of East Asian economic integration will both create opportunities and pose challenges for APEC. For Taiwan to maintain or enhance its roles in both the East Asian and Asia- Pacific regions, this paper suggests that, rather than insisting on negotiating FTAs with other East Asian economies, it should pursue economic agreements with them on substantive issues and liberalize unilaterally to provide market access in some sectors in which it enjoys a competitive advantage. At the same time, it should focus on securing an FTA with the US, strive to obtain advance understanding of how it will be affected by ASEAN+X FTAs, do its best to help revitalize APEC, and work toward improving relations across the Taiwan Strait.