The $23 trillion leviathan known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) may be unwieldy and frustrating, but negotiators of one of the world's biggest trade pacts must pick up the pace of talks or risk compounding the region's vulnerabilities to trade wars and wild currency swings.
"The negotiators should not lose sight of the wider context and issues at stake," Dr Marty Natalegawa, Indonesia's former foreign minister, told The Straits Times.
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