East Asia Summit (EAS)

27 October, 2021
12 min read
Relevance: Paper II Mains
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What is East Asia Summit (EAS)?

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is the Indo-Pacific's premier forum for strategic dialogue.
It is the only leader-led forum at which all key partners meet to discuss political, security and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific, and has an important role to play in advancing closer regional cooperation.
Australia participated, as a founding member, in the inaugural EAS held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 December 2005.

Members of East Asia Summit (EAS):

The EAS has 18 members - the ten ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
ASEAN leads the forum, and the chair position rotates between ASEAN Member States annually.

Statistics related to EAS

In 2020 EAS members represented 54 % of the world's population and accounted for 62 % of global GDP worth an estimated US$52.3 trillion.
In 2020, Australia's two-way trade with EAS countries was worth A$570.0 billion, 71.4 % of Australia's total two-way trade.

EAS Meetings and Processes

The EAS calendar culminates in the annual Leaders' Summit, which is usually held alongside ASEAN Leaders' meetings in the fourth quarter of every year.
In addition to their discussions, leaders issue statements on topical issues, to signal political will for framing policy responses and to provide a basis for cooperation.
In addition to the Leaders' Summit, meetings of EAS Foreign Ministers and Economic Ministers are held annually.
These also serve as platforms for frank discussion of political, regional security and economic issues and prepare for the Leaders' Summit, including by developing new ideas on statements for leaders' consideration. Meetings of the EAS Environment, Energy, and Education Ministers are also held frequently.
Additional support for the EAS is provided through the EAS Ambassadors' Meeting in Jakarta (EAMJ).

Recent activities in the EAS

East Asia Summit 2021

The 16th EAS was held on 27 October 2021, chaired by Brunei Darussalam via videoconference (due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
EAS leaders discussed key regional issues including safe, affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, health security, the South China Sea, the situations in Myanmar and Hong Kong, the Korean Peninsula, climate change, cybersecurity and countering violent extremism.
EAS leaders adopted three statements in 2021:

Sustainable Recovery (proposed by China and the United States);
Economic Growth Through Tourism Recovery (proposed by Russia); and
Mental Health Cooperation (proposed by Brunei Darussalam and co-sponsored by Australia).

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