East Asia Summit (EAS): Issues for Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Jan. 11, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RL33242 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Bruce Vaughn, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The first East Asia Summit (EAS) met on December 14, 2005, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It
brought together the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), [Brunei, Burma,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam] as well as the
"plus three" states [China, South Korea, and Japan] and Australia, New Zealand, and India, to
discuss issues of common concern. Japanese officials have described the EAS as an "historic summit
meeting to be held with a view to establishing a future East Asia Community." (1) Such a group could potentially replace Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) as the main multilateral forum in Asia on trade and investment liberalization
and economic integration. Russia was invited to attend the EAS as a special guest. (2) Some in the United States are concerned that the East Asia Summit
marks a rise in Asian regionalism in which the United States is not playing a leading role. There is
also concern that China may use the East Asia Summit to consolidate a leading role in Asia. A key
outcome of the first East Asia Summit is that ASEAN appears to have retained a central role in the
process. This report will be updated as circumstances warrant.
1. Embassy of Japan, "General Information on the East Asia
Summit," December 7, 2005.
2. "ASEAN to Invite Russia as "Special Guest" to EAS," Jiji
Press , November 29, 2005.
