[2] The CEPEA proposal was advanced by Japan in conjunction with the establishment of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
An alternative proposal based on the 13 members of the ASEAN Plus Three is called the East Asia Free Trade Agreement (EAFTA).
We looked forward to receiving the progress report at the 17th ASEAN Summit in October 2010 and to discussing with our Dialogue Partners the future direction of regional architecture with ASEAN at its core.By August 2010 working groups involving the 16 nations to study Economic Cooperation, Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures and Tariff Nomenclature had been formed.
[9] In August 2011, East Asia Summit Economic Ministers welcomed a Chinese and Japanese joint 'Initiative on Speeding up the Establishment of EAFTA and CEPEA'.
[10] 13 of the 16 nations (excluding India, Australia and New Zealand) are also simultaneously negotiating an East Asia Free Trade Area.