General Information on East Asia Summit (EAS)
December 2005
1. Outline of the First EAS
1-1. Date and Venue
The first EAS will be held on December 14, 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1-2. Participating Countries
There are 16 participating countries: 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.
Note: Background to decide on the current EAS member countries
(a) In the wake of the ASEAN and ASEAN+3 Ministerial Meetings which were held respectively in Cebu in April and in Kyoto in May 2005, the ASEAN side decided on three conditions for participation in the first EAS as follows: The country should (1) be a Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) member or have the will to become a member, (2) be a complete ASEAN Dialogue Partner, and (3) have substantive relations with ASEAN.
(b) At the ASEAN + 3 Ministerial Meeting held in Laos at the end of July this year, it was formally decided that Australia, India and New Zealand, which do not belong to ASEAN + 3, would take part in the EAS.
1-3. Chair
The chair for the first EAS is Malaysia, which is also ASEAN Chair for the year from summer 2005.
2. Background
2-1. While discussion on the future establishment of an East Asian community (EAc) was emerged, the report of the East Asia Vision Group (EAVG) was submitted to the 2001 ASEAN + 3 Summit Meeting by a group of experts in the private sector. The report referred to the evolution of the ASEAN + 3 Summit Meeting into an EAS as a means of realizing the EAc.
2-2. The report by an East Asia Study Group (EASG) of government officials, which was established based on an agreement at the ASEAN + 3 Summit Meeting held in November 2000, was submitted to the 2002 ASEAN + 3 Summit Meeting. The report proposed 17 short-term and 9 mid- and long-term measures, with a view to establishing a future EAc. The holding of an EAS was one of the 9 mid- and long-term measures.
2-3. At the ASEAN + 3 Summit Meeting held in November 2004, it was officially decided that a first EAS would be held in December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur.
3. Japan's Basic Stance
3-1. The EAS is a historic summit meeting to be held with a view to establishing a future EAc, and Japan intends to proactively contribute to achieving its success.
3-2. Regional cooperation in East Asia has developed as "open" cooperation with the involvement of partners within the region and beyond, and from this point of view, Japan welcomes the participation of Australia, India and New Zealand.
3-3. Japan considers that the future philosophy and basic principles of regional cooperation should be confirmed at the First EAS. Specifically, it deems that regional cooperation in East Asia should proceed (a) based on the principle of open regionalism, (b) through promotion of functional cooperation in various fields including social and economic measures and countermeasures against terrorism and piracy and (c) with respect for such universal values as democracy and human rights and with conformity to such global regimes as the WTO.
*This original document was written by the Regional Policy Division, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in November 2005.
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