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Order Code RS22346
December 9, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
East Asian Summit: Issues for Congress
Bruce Vaughn
Analyst in Southeast and South Asian Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
Fundamental shifts underway in Asia could constrain the U.S. role in the
multilateral affairs of Asia. The centrality of the United States is now being challenged
by renewed regionalism in Asia and by China's rising influence. While the United States
traditionally has played a central role in setting the agenda and shaping the goals for
multilateral cooperation in the region, including the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) group, there is the potential that the upcoming East Asian Summit, to which the
United States has not been invited, could lead to a new regional forum led by China that
would exclude the United States and increasingly displace APEC, and other more
inclusive fora, as the leading multilateral grouping of Asia. Although there are a number
of obstacles to the realization of an East Asian bloc that would limit American influence
in the region, some observers are of the opinion that the United States should take
further steps to reinforce its own regional role and revitalize ties with allies, friendly
countries, and others to deter that possibility.
The East Asian Summit: Background and Context
The new East Asian Summit (EAS) scheduled to meet on December 14, 2005 in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will bring together the ten Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), [Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam] as well as the plus three states [China, South Korea,
and Japan] and Australia, New Zealand, and India, to discuss issues of common concern.
Japanese officials have described the EAS as an historic summit meeting to be held with
a view to establishing a future East Asia Community.' Such a group could potentially
replace APEC as the main multilateral forum in Asia on trade and investment
liberalization and economic integration. It has been reported that Russia has been invited
to attend the EAS as a special guest.2 The EAS will follow shortly after a number of other
ASEAN summits being held in Kuala Lumpur including the December 12-13, 2005
ASEAN summit, the first ASEAN-Russia Summit, the ASEAN-Japan Summit, the
1 Embassy of Japan, General Information on the East Asia Summit, December 7, 2005.
2 ASEAN to Invite Russia as Special Guest to EAS, Jiji Press, November 29, 2005.
Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/crsuntaafpq0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)