UK pushes Pacific trade talks amid broader new focus on Asia

The U.K. has launched negotiations to join a trans-Pacific trade bloc as it looks to explore new opportunities following its departure from the European Union and strengthen its strategic interests in Asia

BANGKOK -- The U.K. launched negotiations Tuesday to join a trans-Pacific trade bloc as it looks to explore new opportunities following its departure from the European Union and strengthen its strategic interests in Asia. The start of talks to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, made up of 11 counties with a combined half billion people, came as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met with his counterpart and other Vietnamese officials during his fifth visit to Southeast Asia in his current job. Britain is also looking to attain “dialogue partnership” status with the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, as it pursues a “tilt” toward the Indo-Pacific region in response to China’s growing influence on the world stage that was recommended by a recent British government review of defense and foreign policy. “The U.K. is committed to strengthening our friendship across the Indo-Pacific," Raab said ahead of the trip. "We are demonstrating this through our commitment to join CPTPP, partner with ASEAN and invest more energy, time and effort in our bilateral relations in the region.”