New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has arrived in Bangkok but has played down the prospect of a breakthrough in the seven-year-long RCEP trade negotiations at the East Asia Summit.
A select group of world leaders, including Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and Ardern, are gathering in Bangkok, joining ASEAN leaders already in the Thai capital.
On the agenda are regional security issues, Thailand's addition of sustainable development, and the gargantuan trade deal in waiting.
RCEP, or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, is a free trade agreement between the 10 South East Asian nations of ASEAN, and China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern. Source: AAP
The mammoth 16-nation deal comprises roughly half of the world's people and a third of the world's economic output.
India has been reported as the last hold-out to the deal first mooted in 2012.
Asked what should be expected from the summit on the RCEP, Ardern said "really just progress".
"We're getting closer to seeing conclusion but it's too soon even now," she told AAP.
"There is a growing ambition that it is concluded."
Like Morrison, Ardern will take a number of bilateral meetings while at the summit, including the hosts and Malaysia, late on Sunday.
The denuclearisation of North Korea, Myanmarese persecution of Rohingya and Chinese expansion in the South China Sea will all be discussed.
Ardern said she would hold the line on activity in the South China Sea, an enormously important stretch for trade both to and from New Zealand.
"We fall back on a rules-based order and agreed international law. That's a firm place to stand and so that's been our long-standing position on issues like the South China Sea," she said.
"We've continued to support work to conclude the code of conduct that's been worked on for some time around the South China Sea and just to ensure that's consistent with international law."
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (L) and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) laugh beside Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha. Source: AFP
Ardern wlll also ensure climate change is discussed.
"You see (climate change) being articulated in that way by our Pacific neighbours so I consistently raise the issue of climate change," she said.
"There's also a particular focus on issues around waste. That has a contribution to climate change as well, but particularly the impact on oceans."
The summit has taken on greater importance with the cancellation of APEC in a fortnight's time.
The Asia-Pacific grouping won't meet as planned given the civil unrest in Chile's capital of Santiago, which was to host the event, leaving East Asia Summit attendees to reconsider their bilateral schedule.
