East Asia Summit (EAS)

The East Asia Summit remains critical to advancing closer regional cooperation, at a time of a rapid geo-political and geo-economic changes.

• Temjenmeren Ao
• September 14, 2023
• IDSA Comments

The world needs India as a balancer – in trade, as a market, as an alternative model, and as a world power.

• Sujit Dutta
• December 30, 2010
• IDSA Comments

As India deepens its strategic engagement with the countries of South East Asia, ASEAN needs to make up its mind on the mechanisms required to tackle core security issues instead of outsourcing them to a multitude of organisations.

• Pankaj K Jha
• November 08, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Notwithstanding the community formation ideas in different shapes coming from Japan and Australia, the EAS came out with as many as 42 deals on issues ranging from outstanding trade and economic matters to the launch of a human rights commission.

• Rajaram Panda
• November 06, 2009
• IDSA Comments

One of the most notable attempts by Japan towards fostering regionalism in recent years has been through its active and positive participation in the East Asia Summit (EAS), envisioned to be a stepping stone towards the formation of an East Asian Community (EAC). The idea behind regionalism and efforts towards the EAS and EAC are to be perceived within the broader context of Tokyo's attempts to shape the regional environment and influence policies in the region. Its primary goal is to neutralize and dilute the influence of China.

• Arpita Mathur
• September 2009
• Strategic Analysis

The inaugural East Asian Summit (EAS), representing nearly 50 per cent of the world's population with 20 per cent of global trade, and comprising 16 nations that are on a dynamic path of economic development, is obviously a mega event. For India, it is yet another opening to increasingly align itself with this region and play a commensurate political and security role. There is no question that the centre of gravity is decisively moving to East Asia and developments in this region will offer great economic opportunities and pose serious challenges as well.

• G. V. C. Naidu
• December 20, 2005
• IDSA Comments

The inaugural East Asian Summit (EAS), touted as groundbreaking, commenced on December 14 in Kuala Lumpur comprising 16 nations— the 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand with Russian President Vladimir Putin making a special appearance. The EAS Declaration, like many issued before in the region, is wide-ranging: from political and security cooperation, infrastructure development, financial issues, further liberalisation of regional trade and investment, poverty eradication to fighting epidemics. Nonetheless, inter alia, three points need underscoring.

• G. V. C. Naidu
• October 2005
• Strategic Analysis