* Thailand says talks on trade pact were conclusive
* Indonesia appeals to India to remain within agreement
* ASEAN says commitment to sign agreement in 2020
* Downgraded U.S. delegation to meet only three ASEAN
leaders
By Panu Wongcha-um, Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat
Thepgumpanat
BANGKOK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Thailand said on Monday that
Asian countries had held conclusive talks on what could be the
world's biggest trade pact and there would be an announcement of
success at a summit in Bangkok despite doubts raised by India.
Spurred in part by the U.S.-China trade war, Southeast Asian
countries hoped to announce at least provisional agreement on
the China-backed 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) on Monday.
But last minute demands raised by India meant negotiations
among ministers went late into the night alongside a summit of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) being held in
Bangkok, Thailand.
"The negotiation last night was conclusive," Commerce
Minister Jurin Laksanawisit told Reuters on Monday.
"There will be an announcement together on the success of
the RCEP agreement by the leaders later today. India is part of
this as well and will jointly make the announcement. The signing
will be next year."
RCEP includes the 10-member grouping of Southeast Asian
nations, as well as China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia
and New Zealand.
At a separate meeting, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha
said "We welcome the conclusion of the RCEP negotiation and
(are) committed to sign the RCEP agreement in 2020."
But Indian officials at the summit remained tight-lipped and
officials from other countries did not comment.
Southeast Asia's biggest country, Indonesia, had appealed to
India on Sunday to remain part of the agreement.
New impetus ro complete the deal has come from the
U.S.-China trade war, which has helped knock regional economic
growth to its lowest in five years.
But India has been worried about a potential flood of
Chinese imports and officials with knowledge of the negotiations
said India had raised last minute demands. Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi did not even mention RCEP in his public comments
after meetings in Bangkok on Sunday.
NEARLY HALF THE WORLD
The bloc would account for a third of global gross domestic
product and nearly half the world's population. Thai government
spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat told reporters on Sunday that a
signing was still expected for February.
Some countries have raised the possibility of moving ahead
without India.
But one advantage for Southeast Asian countries from having
relative heavyweight India in the trade pact would be less
domination by China.
Longstanding rivals China and India, who fought a border war
in 1962, have clashed verbally in recent days over India's
decision to formally revoke the constitutional autonomy of the
disputed Muslim majority state of Kashmir. The U.S. decision to send a lower level delegation to the
summits this year has raised regional concerns that it can no
longer be relied on as a counterweight to China's increasing
regional might. Because of the downgrade in the U.S. delegation, only three
of the 10 regional leaders would join the usual U.S.-ASEAN
meeting, a Thai government spokesperson said.
But U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told a business
meeting on the sidelines of the summit that the administration
of U.S. President Donald Trump was "extremely engaged and fully
committed" to the region.