East Asia Summit (EAS) is a multilateral meeting held between leaders of 18 nations. At first, the EAS summit was attended by leaders of 16 nations spanning across Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceania and South Asia. However, it was expanded to 18 nations with the inclusion of Russia and the United States of America (USA). This article briefly throws light on the history, member countries and the need for the East Asia Summit.
For details on the Civil Service Exam conducted by UPSC, candidates can visit the link IAS Exam.
| Aspirants should begin their preparation by solving UPSC Previous Year Question Papers now!!
To complement your preparation for the upcoming exam, check the following links:
|
History of the East Asia Summit
- The idea behind the East Asia Summit was first mooted by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad.
- During the ASEAN Plus Three Summit held during 2004, there a consensus among the leaders, to hold the East Asian Summit (EAS).
- Since its establishment, ASEAN has held the central role and leadership in the forum. EAS meetings are held after the annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings and plays an important role in the regional architecture of Asia-Pacific. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.
Members of East Asia Summit
The following are the members of East Asia Summit
East Asia Summit Members
| Countries | Capital City | Heads of Government |
| Australia | Canberra | Prime Minister Scott Morrison |
| Brunei | Bandar Seri Begawan | Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei |
| Cambodia | Phnom Penh | Prime Minister Hun Sen |
| China | Beijing | Premier Li Keqiang |
| India | New Delhi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi |
| Indonesia | Jakarta | President Joko Widodo, |
| Japan | Tokyo | Prime Minister Shinzō Abe |
| Laos | Vientiane | Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin |
| Myanmar | Naypyidaw | Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi |
| New Zealand | Wellington | Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern |
| Philippines | Manila | President Rodrigo Duterte, |
| Russia | Moscow | Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin |
| Singapore | Singapore | Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong |
| South Korea | Seoul | President Moon Jae-in, |
| Thailand | Bangkok | Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha |
| United States | Washington DC | President Donald Trump |
| Vietnam | Hanoi | Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc |
What is the need for the East Asia Summit?
The EAS is expected to provide a political impetus and commitment to a process that is already on, i.e., the East Asian countries are feverishly interacting economically with each other like never before. The intra-East Asian trade has reached over 55 per cent from about 40 per cent a decade back, and much of regional direct investments are increasingly inward bound.
This is happening despite the absence of a region-wide, overarching organisation and is entirely driven by market conditions. Theoretically, strong political support through an institutionalized structure will boost this process and may even result in regional integration. Such integration is expected to address two issues. One, greater interdependence will be a disincentive for countries to become militarily aggressive, and two, many of the existing security problems are unlikely to flare up into conflicts because of certain common, critical stakes.
Find a list of the important summit and their venues by clicking on the linked article.
The below-given links will help candidates to learn more about other important multilateral organisations in Asia and the latest foreign policies of India like the Act East Policy and its difference with Look East Policy. Candidates can go through the relevant links provided below to prepare for the exam even better-
Relevant Links
The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2023. UPSC exam-related preparation materials will be found through the links given below.
Aspirants can find complete information about upcoming Government Exams through the linked article.
Comments