East Asia Summit

[1][2] The concept of an East Asia Grouping has significant history going back to an idea first promoted in 1991 by then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

The issues of Myanmar (Burma), following the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests, and climate change were expected to be discussed at the Third EAS.

[usurped] The Fourth EAS was significantly delayed and its location changed a number of times due to internal tensions in Thailand, the host nation.

We welcomed ASEAN's efforts towards further integration and community building, and reaffirmed our resolve to work closely together in narrowing development gaps in our region.

To deepen integration, we agreed to launch a Track To study on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA) among EAS participants.

We tasked the ASEAN Secretariat to prepare a time frame for the study and to invite all our countries to nominate their respective participants in it.

We welcomed Japan's proposal for an Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

[24] The members of EAS agreed to study the Japanese proposed[25] Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA).

To redouble efforts to move progress and cooperation in the EAS further forward, including in the priority areas and in the promotion of regional integration through supporting the realisation of the ASEAN Community and such initiatives as the ASEAN Plus FTAs and other existing wider regional economic integration efforts including studies on East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA).India has launched several Look-East connectivity projects with China and ASEAN nations.

Prior to the creation of the EAS it appeared that ASEAN Plus Three would take the role of community building in East Asia.

[29] Malaysia felt that it was still the case that the role of the community building fell to ASEAN Plus Three shortly before the second EAS despite "confusion".

[30] China apparently agreed whereas Japan and India felt the EAS should be the focus of the East Asian Community.

[32] Nevertheless, the Chairman’s Press Statement for the Seventh ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting[usurped] Kuala Lumpur, 26 July 2006 said 25.

[33] The China-India joint declaration of 21 November 2006 linked, at paragraph 43, the EAS with the East Asian Community process.

We recognised and supported the mutually reinforcing and complementary roles of the ASEAN Plus Three process and such regional fora as EAS, ARF, APEC and ASEM to promote East Asian community building.

We reiterated that East Asian integration is an open, transparent, inclusive, and forward-looking process for mutual benefits and support internationally shared values to achieve peace, stability, democracy and prosperity in the region.

Guided by the vision for durable peace and shared prosperity in East Asia and beyond, we will stand guided by new economic flows, evolving strategic interactions and the belief to continue to engage all interested countries and organisations towards the realisation of an open regional architecture capable of adapting to changes and new dynamism.

[36] If achieved the Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA) would be a tangible first step in the community building process.

ASEAN Plus Three, which has been meeting since December 1997[39] has a history, including the Chiang Mai Initiative[40] which appears to have led to the development of the Asian Monetary Unit.

[44] Following the meeting the then Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi described ASEAN Plus Three as the primary vehicle and implied APEC was the lesser of the three.

[49] The status of potential future members was discussed in the Chairman's Statement of the 16th ASEAN Summit (9 April 2010)[50] in these terms: 43.

In this connection, we encouraged Russia and the US to deepen their engagement in an evolving regional architecture, including the possibility of their involvement with the EAS through appropriate modalities, taking into account the Leaders-led, open and inclusive nature of the EAS.ASEAN formally invited the United States and Russia to join the group from 2011.

[51] Japan and India supported inclusion of the United States and Russia prior to their invitation to join the East Asia Summit.