Asean
East Asia Summit (Asean + 6) calling for a new East Asian political architecture
The sixth East Asia Summit (EAS) will be held in Bali in November, marked by the participation of two new members, Russia and the US. The EAS is a pan-Asian dialogue forum on broad strategic, political and economic issues with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia. It strives to strengthen global norms and universal values, with ASEAN as the summit’s driving force, working in tandem with its participants.

The sixth East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Bali in November, marked by the participation of two new members, Russia and the US. The EAS is a pan-Asian dialogue forum on broad strategic, political and economic issues with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia.It strives to strengthen global norms and universal values, with ASEAN as the summit’s driving force, working in tandem with its participants.
The EAS includes 16 leaders, namely all 10 ASEAN members plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. Combined, these 16 countries represent almost half of the world’s population, and account for almost 32 per cent of global GDP, according to IMF figures. The meeting was meant to be held annually since the first summit in 2005, but due to various factors it met twice in 2007 and not at all in 2008. But since 2009, the summit has been annual and always held in October.
Russia and the US are both key players in the region’s stability and development
Russia and the US are both key players in the region’s stability and development, so their participation in the EAS will make possible the establishment of a more organised and effective political architecture. With the inclusion of the two countries, the EAS is set to become more important as it deals with economic and non-economic cooperation. In the past, both the EAS and ASEAN+3 (APT, the forum that coordinates cooperation between ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea) covered the former.
Security issues, including hard security issues, will be dealt with by the EAS, thereby enhancing regional cooperation in East Asia. Although hard security issues had become more urgent, they were previously not included in the agenda of existing regional institutions. Now we can at last connect the dots between existing regional institutions to form the lines that define a hierarchical and logical order.
Author: Jusuf Wanadi, CSIS, Jakarta
Jusuf Wanadi is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta.
This article was originally published in Forbes Indonesia, May 2011
Visit link:
EAS: calling for a new East Asian political architecture
Asean
The Latest on Covid-19 in Southeast Asia
Thailand has largely avoided widespread community transmission of Covid-19, but the kingdom is not faring well on the economic front, with a projected contraction of 7.1 percent this year.

As a region, Southeast Asia has fared relatively well in keeping coronavirus cases low, with the notable exceptions of the Philippines and Indonesia.
(more…)Laos
China’s debt-trap diplomacy: Laos’ credit rating downgraded to CCC
Laos’ debt challenge is deeply concerning, with some media commentators suggesting the country is falling into a debt trap as a result of Chinese infrastructure investments connected to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

On 23 September, the Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Laos’ credit rating to CCC — the second downgrade in 2020, having dropped to B- in May.
(more…)Vietnam
Foreign capital still heads to Vietnam
As many as 798 projects added a combined over 5.11 billion USD to their investment capital, down 23 percent year-on-year in project number but up 6.8 percent in value.

Hanoi (VNA) – The total amount of foreign investment poured into Vietnam this year to September 20 reached 21.2 billion USD, equivalent to 81.8 percent of the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
(more…)-
Economics7 days ago
96% of Foreign Investors still confident in Thailand says BOI
-
Investment1 week ago
Thailand BOI new measures to boost post-Covid-19 investment
-
Companies1 week ago
Thai Firm to produce 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine
-
Investment3 days ago
Thailand Saw $1.7 billion Applications in Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Investments in 2020, BOI Says