Vietnam and the RCEP: a Digital Perspective

Southeast Asia: Actual Problems of Development. 2026. Vol. 2. No. 2(71). P. 175–187.

Evgeny A. Kanaev, Berezhnaya A.

The article examines the significance and the place of the digital tools developed by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the priorities of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). On tracing the RCEP’s origins, evolution, and interim outcomes obtained to date, the article proceeds with assessing the efficiency of the RCEP’s digital tools to finally turn to scrutinizing the degree of their significance for Vietnam. The authors argue that although the RCEP is a potentially promising direction of ASEAN’s policy, its shortcomings in comparison with ASEAN+1 FTAs and other Asia-Pacific initiatives of economic regionalism, mostly, the CPTTP, matter all the stronger in the priorities of the RCEP’s countries. Notwithstanding this, the RCEP offers Vietnam a possibility for maintaining an optimum balance between the economic feedback and national security considerations, which best serves its interest. The research findings contribute to assessing the RCEP’s digital tools vis-à-vis other multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements across the Asia-Pacific region in the policy planning of the RCEP’s countries. Although extant studies have explored various aspects of the RCEP, including its digital provisions, there is still a dearth of academic research on the extent to which the RCEP fits into the priorities of its participants. Consequently, the paper has obvious academic novelty and political relevance, as well as theoretical and practical significance.   

Keywords: эволюция, Вьетнам, электронная коммерция, evolution, electronic commerce, Vietnam, RCEP, ВРЭП, digital projects and initiatives, цифровые проекты и инициативы, digital provisions, prospects for synergy, положения о сотрудничестве в цифровом пространстве, перспективы координации