EAST ASIA SUMMIT

1. Context

2. What is East Asia Summit?

• Beginning in 2005, 16 participating countries comprised this grouping, with their first meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These members were the 10 ASEAN Countries, Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.
• ASEAN's 10 member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Phillippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The United States and the Russian Federation joined at the 6th East Asia Summit in 2011.
• Simply, the EAS is an ASEAN initiative and refers to the annual Meeting of Heads of State/Governments of these countries, where they can discuss common concerns and interests.
• Its creation was based on the idea of enhancing cooperation among East Asian countries and those in the neighboring regions. Six priority areas of cooperation were identified-Environment energy, education, finance, global health issues, pandemic diseases, natural disaster management, and ASEAN connectivity.
• In the past, the issues of claims over the South China Sea, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, terrorism, the actions of North Korea, and the Conflict situation in Myanmar have been discussed by the countries.

3. What are the East Asian Summit Links with India?

• This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship year.
• In a Joint statement, ASEAN- India acknowledged the deep civilizational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges between southeast Asia and India which have grown stronger over the last 30 years, providing a strong foundation for ASEAN-India relations. 
• VP Dhankar on Saturday announced an additional contribution of USD 5 million to the ASEAN-India science and technology fund to enhance cooperation in sectors of public health, renewable energy, and smart agriculture.
• According to a 2021 statement by the Prime Minister's website, "ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership stands on a strong foundation of shared geographical, historical and civilizational ties. ASEAN is central to our Act East Policy and our wider vision of the Indo-Pacific".

4. About ASEAN

• The annual summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) under the chairmanship of Cambodia was held from November 10 to November 13. Amid the war in Ukraine and contestation between US and China, the 10-member regional grouping stressed its common interest and concern, such as strengthening energy cooperation and people-to-people connectivity.
• Indonesia's president Joko Widodo mentioned the idea of a new Cold War amid increasing tensions between the United States and China, saying ASEAN would not become "a proxy to any powers".
• With a combined population of 700 million people that has long been seen as a relatively stable and unified grouping, especially when compared to other regions of the world like Europe or South Asia, ASEAN has also remained important for India.

5. India and ASEAN

• Apart from the individual ties that India has had with these countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said ASEAN is central to India's Act East Policy, which focuses on the extended neighborhood in the Asia-Pacific region. The policy was originally conceived as an economic initiative but has gained political, strategic, and cultural dimensions including the establishment of institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation. In 2018, ASEAN leaders were the chief guests at India's republic day parade.
• India is part of the ASEAN Plus Six grouping, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia as well.
• In 2010 a Free Trade Agreement was also signed and entered into force between India and ASEAN. While India was part of negotiations to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2020, it ultimately decided not to do so. However, in the largest seven years trade has grown in terms of value, barring the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
• ASEAN itself has recently faced issues that complicate coordination, such as the rise of China and its claims over the South China Sea (many of which compete with claims of ASEAN members like the Philippines) and the issue of military conflict in Myanmar.

For Prelims & Mains