Jaishankar participates in 20th East Asia Summit

• Minister of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participated in the 20th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 27.  

• India flagged serious concerns over increasingly “constricted” energy trade, selective application of norms and market access issues.

• The Summit was attended by Heads of State/Government and High Representatives of the EAS participating countries. 

• Apart from the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, the East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.

• The president of BRICS and the president of G20 also attended the Open Session, as guests of the Chair, and briefed the Meeting on their respective cooperation with the EAS to advance economic resilience and boost sustainable growth.

• In the momentous 20th EAS anniversary, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the EAS as the premier Leaders-led forum for dialogue and cooperation on strategic, political, and economic issues of mutual interest and concern in the region.

• The leaders also adopted the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the 20th Anniversary of the EAS and thematic statements on relevant issues.

What is East Asia Summit?

• The East Asia Summit 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.

• Established in 2005, EAS allows the principal players in the Indo-Pacific region to discuss issues of common interest and concern, in an open and transparent manner, at the highest level.

• The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first promoted in 1991 by the then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. 

• The final report of the East Asian Study Group in 2002, established by the ASEAN+3 countries (China, Japan and South Korea), recommended EAS as an ASEAN-led development limited to the ASEAN+3 countries. 

• However, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) held in Vientiane in July  2005 welcomed the participation of ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand, in the first East Asia Summit. 

• The US and the Russian Federation were formally included members of the East Asia Summit at the 6th East Asia Summit held in Bali, Indonesia in November 2011.

• Since its inception, it has played a significant role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of East Asia.

Members of East Asia Summit

• The EAS has 19 members — the 11 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste) along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States. 

• ASEAN leads the forum, and the chair position rotates between ASEAN Member States annually. 

• According to estimates, EAS members represent 54 per cent of the world’s population and account for 62 per cent of global GDP.

• India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit.