Traditional theorists explain regional integration efforts as a “balancing” phenomenon. For them,
the United States leadership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations is related to its
attempt to balance against a rising the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Likewise, they would
argue that PRC’s policy to establish the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
can be best understood as a counter-proposal for a regional economic coalition vis-à-vis the
United States-led TPP. However, direct application of security-centric theory, which implicitly
assumes wars as the ultimate tool of external policy, to the economic field is problematic, given
the low probability of wars.