Ian Chen, a professor at the Institute of Political Science at Taiwan's National Sun Yat-sen University, questions whether IPEF will be able to have an impact on Southeast Asia's economic dependence on China anytime soon.
"I think it is unlikely in the short term," he told VOA Mandarin. "IPEF doesn't require very strict commitments, so participating countries can actually determine how involved they want to be. With such loose requirements, it can be difficult to achieve the goals you want to achieve."