East Asia Summit

Oct 27: East Asia Summit – https://youtu.be/nRC1dpdzhDg

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• GS-II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

East Asia Summit

Context: At the 16th East Asia Summit, leaders discussed matters of regional and international interest and concern including Indo-Pacific, South China Sea, UNCLOS, terrorism, and the situation in Korean Peninsula and Myanmar. 

India –

• Reaffirmed India’s focus on a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and support for ASEAN’s centrality in the region.
• India remains committed to strengthening respect for shared values of multilateralism, rules-based international order, international law and sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
• Spoke about ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign for post-pandemic recovery and in ensuring resilient global value chains. 
• Emphasised on establishment of a better balance between economy and ecology and climate sustainable lifestyle.
• Reaffirmed “ASEAN centrality” in the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the synergies between ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
• Raised the idea of developing global standards on cyber security.

EAS leaders adopted three statements on mental health, economic recovery through tourism and sustainable recovery, which have been co-sponsored by India.

About East Asia Summit

The East Asia Summit is the Indo-Pacific’s premier forum for strategic dialogue at which all key partners meet to discuss political, security and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific. This forum has an important role to play in advancing closer regional cooperation. 

• The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian regions, based on the ASEAN plus Six mechanism.
• There are 18 members including the ten ASEAN countries along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. 
• In 2020 EAS members represented 54 per cent of the world’s population and accounted for 62 per cent of global GDP worth an estimated US$52.3 trillion. 
• India participated, as a founding member, in the inaugural East Asia Summit held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 December 2005. Since then this forum has played a significant role in the strategic and geopolitical evolution of East Asia. 
• It is also an important platform for furthering practical cooperation in the Indo-Pacific by building upon the convergence between ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific and Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative. 
• Aim: To further the objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity; has evolved as a forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation on political, security and economic issues of common regional concern and plays an important role in the regional architecture.
• Six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS–
  • Environment and Energy
  • Education
  • Finance
  • Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases
  • Natural Disaster Management
  • ASEAN Connectivity