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East Asia Summit to Play Role in Regional Community Building: Draft

Posted on: Sunday, 11 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By Siti Rahil, Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Dec. 10--KUALA LUMPUR -- Leaders from 16 countries taking part in next week's East Asia Summit expect the new forum to play a "significant role" in community building in the region, according to the final draft of a document they are set to issue.

But the document, agreed to by the forum's foreign ministers at their working lunch Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, did not specifically mention the proposed East Asian community, a distant and nebulous goal ASEAN is espousing.

The leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand are expected to adopt the statement when they meet Wednesday in the Malaysian capital for the inaugural EAS summit.

The decision to not mention the East Asian community by name appears to be a triumph of sorts for China and several ASEAN countries that insist moves to create such a bloc should be spearheaded by Southeast and Northeast Asian countries through the existing "ASEAN-plus-three" mechanism.

The launching of the EAS is an indication that momentum has been building in Asia to create a giant trading bloc covering eastern Asia and India, Australia and New Zealand to help the region compete with the likes of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Community.

Russia has applied to join the EAS, while the European Union has expressed interest.

The final decision to include reference to "community building in the region" in the document was reached after a tug of war between China and some ASEAN countries on one hand, and Japan and some non-East Asian participants of the EAS on the other, ASEAN sources said.

Japan and others want the EAS to be involved in developing the East Asian community to reduce China's growing clout, the sources said.

Indonesia, which has also been wary of China's dominance in the region, played a mediating role to come up with a compromise formulation to soothe all parties, they said.

The final draft, obtained by Kyodo News on Saturday, says that efforts by the East Asia Summit to promote community building in this region will be consistent with and reinforce the realization of the ASEAN Community and will form an integral part of the evolving regional architecture.

The ASEAN Community refers to ASEAN's declared goal of a more economically, politically and culturally integrated region by 2020.

The EAS is the brainchild of ASEAN, but it was born amid much contention among its members. One of the main concerns was that the EAS would not only duplicate the tried and tested ASEAN-plus-three meetings involving Japan, China and South Korea, but also supersede it.

Many also see the EAS as a means of diluting China's influence.

The draft statement describes the EAS as a "forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest and concern." It will be "open, inclusive, transparent and outward looking," and ASEAN "will be the driving force working in partnership with other participants of the EAS," the document says.

The statement reflects some decisions on the modalities of the new summit, saying the EAS will be "convened regularly" but without specifying exactly how often. It says the EAS will be hosted and chaired only by an ASEAN member country.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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To see more of Kyodo News International, go to http://www.kyodonews.com

Copyright (c) 2005, Kyodo News International, Tokyo

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Source: Kyodo News International, Tokyo

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