The 14 member countries of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a new U.S.-led economic bloc, agreed to begin formal negotiations at a ministerial meeting in Los Angeles last week.
The framework -- which includes Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, India, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- is intended to create a counterweight against China, which wields its economic clout as a diplomatic tool.
