ERIA–RIN Joint Statement No. 7

On 10 November 2019, the annual Research Institute Network (RIN) meeting was held in Bangkok, Thailand. This meeting was organised by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in cooperation with the Institute of Developing Economies–Japan External Trade Organisation (IDE-JETRO). The meeting was attended by all 16 RIN members, consisting of research institutes from 16 East Asia Summit countries. This is the 7th RIN–ERIA Joint Statement. RIN links ERIA to research institutes through research activities for ASEAN and East Asia. Its emphasis is on policy-relevant research. While this Statement is advocacy, it rests on the economic research of ERIA, members of RIN, and other research organisations. In 2019, substantial progress was made in concluding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and reinforcing ASEAN centrality. In this statement, the RIN calls for ASEAN and East Asia to maintain openness and double down on collective engagement with the United States, China and all important partners, especially when they struggle to maintain openness or support for multilateralism. East Asian countries will achieve their interests only when acting collectively and strategically to protect multilateralism. The RIN encourages ASEAN and East Asia to get the balance of economics and security right in strategic policy-making and work together to avoid a binary world of zero-sum or negative-sum outcomes. Research Institute Network (RIN) Australian National University (ANU) Brunei Darussalam Institute of Policy & Strategic Studies (BDIPSS) Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP) Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO (IDE-JETRO), Japan Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) National Institute for Economic Research (NIER), Laos Institute of Strategic International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia Yangon University of Economics (YUE) New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), Vietnam