NEAT Working Group on East Asia’s Evolving
Regional Architecture

ReportBangkok, Thailand
4 March 2010

Introduction
NEAT Working Group Meeting on East Asia’s Evolving Regional Architecture washeld on 4 March 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Meeting was organized by the East
Asia Academic Cooperation Council of Thailand (EACC) with the support of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
The Meeting was attended by NEAT members and experts from 10 of the ASEAN+3
countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia and Indonesia were absent) and the ASEAN
Secretariat. The Meeting was presided over by H.E. Mr. Vitavas Srivihok, DirectorGeneral, Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
The Meeting was divided into four sessions. The gist of the four sessions can besummarized as follows:
I. The Relevancy of ASEAN+3 Cooperation in East Asia’s Evolving Regional
Architecture and Roadmap towards an East Asian community
The world’s geo-economic and geo-politic are shifting and changing. The center ofthe global economy is shifting to Asia with East Asia as a hub. The uni-polar systemwith the US as a core is now being replaced by an emerging multi-polar system. In
response to these changes, ideas and proposals have been made, including “G8 ofAsia”, Asia-Pacific community and East Asian community.
Since its inception in 1997, the ASEAN+3 process has become a major vehicle inmoving forward intra-regional cooperation in East Asia. Currently, ASEAN+3cooperation is being pursued in more than 20 areas under some 57 bodies. Unlike
European integration, East Asia integration is primarily market-driven andcharacterized by open regionalism, gradual and flexible systems responsive to theregion’s varying economic, political and cultural realities, multi-track and multi-layerof sub-regional and regional cooperation fora/processes with ASEAN playing acentral role.
East Asia community building should be discussed within the context of interaction ofglobalism, regionalism, and nationalism. The salient features of regionalism in East
Asia are respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, decision-making
by consensus and inclination for informal and soft institutional structure. It remains tobe seen whether these principles are to be maintained or superseded by other new
principles in the future.
Though it is still too early at this juncture to define the shape and form of the East
Asian community (EAc), which is regarded as a long-term goal, it is recognized thatthe ASEAN+3 process remains relevant and important to East Asia communitybuilding. The 2nd Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation and the ASEAN+3
Cooperation Work Plan (2007-2017), adopted in 2007 on the occasion of the 10th

anniversary of the ASEAN+3 process, serve as a guidance for strengthening
ASEAN+3 cooperation towards the long-term goal of building the EAc.

III. Deepening East Asia Economic and Financial Integration
The global economic and financial crisis which originated in the US in 2008 has
resulted in two inter-related political and economic outcomes for East Asia. First, thecrisis has realigned the political center of gravity to East Asia. Second, the crisis has
underscored the status of East Asia as a key pillar not only in global recovery efforts
but also in the future growth of the world’s economy. China has become an engine ofgrowth for its Asian neighbors while at the same time playing the important role as akey player in regional integration.
Regional economic integration in East Asia is primarily market-driven as a result ofgrowing and irreversible economic inter-dependence among countries in the region.
The global financial crisis has presented a golden opportunity for countries in East
Asia to further deepen intra-regional trade and, in the process, to further integrate theireconomies.
The multitude of existing Free Trade Arrangements (FTAs) and Economic Partnership
Agreements (EPAs) in the region can further facilitate intra-regional trade andeconomic integration. An on-going effort has been made to explore the possibility ofestablishing a region-wide FTA through the establishment of an East Asia Free Trade
Area (EAFTA) under the ASEAN+3 framework and a Comprehensive EconomicPartnership in East Asian (CEPEA) under the EAS framework. These two initiatives
are being examined and considered in parallel.
Financial cooperation in East Asia has reached a major milestone with the launchingof Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) in December 2009 with theinitial size of US$ 120 billion. Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI) will also be
further strengthened with the establishment of Credit Guarantee and Investment
Facility (CGIF) to support the issuance of local currency-denominated cooperatebonds in the region.

II. Promoting East Asia Political and Security Cooperation
Although there have been a number of potential conflicts in the region, countries in
East Asia have managed to maintain peace and stability in region through regional
initiatives. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia has beenrecognized as a norm for cooperation to promote peace and stability not only among
ASEAN Member States but also between ASEAN and its friends and partners.

ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is recognized as the most premiere forum for peaceand security dialogue in the Asia Pacific region. ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting(ADMM) established in 2006 is also a significant development in defence and security
cooperation in the region. The ADMM’s decision to establish the ADMM-Plusprocess is a major effort to develop and enhance regional defence and security
cooperation in Southeast Asia and beyond.
In the ASEAN+3 framework, political and security cooperation is quite limited andlagged far behind economic and financial cooperation, even though political andsecurity cooperation can play a positive role in mitigating differences and reducing
tensions in the region. In the 1st Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation adopted atthe 2nd ASEAN+3 Summit in 1999, only short reference was made regarding politicalsecurity cooperation. In the 2nd Joint Statement and the ASEAN+3 Cooperation WorkPlan (2007-2017), though greater reference was made on political and security
cooperation, cooperation in this field is still underdeveloped.
The ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers Meeting established in 2000 is currently the only
mechanism to discuss ASEAN+3 political and security cooperation. A proposal toestablish ASEAN+3 Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM+3) is unfortunately not wellreceived owing to a misperception that ASEAN+3 cooperation is mainly economicoriented. However, in the area of non-traditional security, some cooperation has been
undertaken under the framework of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational
Crime+3 (AMMTC+3) established in 2004. Humanitarian assistance, natural disaster
relief, infectious disasters and pandemic prevention, piracy terrorism and humantrafficking are among areas of cooperation that should be promoted in the ASEAN+3framework.

IV. Enhancing East Asia Social and Cultural Cooperation
Socio-cultural cooperation is part and parcel of East Asian community building
process as it helps promote better understanding and public participation. Connectivity
through infrastructure, education, communication, as well as cultural and people-topeople exchanges should be further encouraged. East Asia’s cultural diversity should
be considered as strength not weakness.
There is a need to enhance greater traditional and pop culture exchanges amongcountries in the region. In recent years, there has been a greater flow of popular
culture, especially from Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia, which has profound
implications on the way of life as well as the lifestyle of people in the region,
especially among younger generations.
ASEAN has developed an extensive network of educational cooperation, especiallyafter the establishment of an ASEAN University Network (AUN) in 1995. The AUN
was given a mandate to strengthen existing networks of cooperation among
universities in ASEAN, to promote collaborative study, research and educational

programs, and to enhance cooperation and solidarity among scholars, academicians
and researchers in the ASEAN Member States. The AUN is currently consisted of 22
member universities and set to expand its membership.
In an effort to develop cooperation among the ASEAN+3 Universities, the ASEAN+3
Higher Education Policy Dialogue was held in March 2009 to explore the possibilityof establishing an ASEAN+3 University Network (AUN+3). The Meeting agreed toconvene the ASEAN+3 Rectors’ Conference and the Meeting of ASEAN+3University International Relations Officers on an annual basis. Support has also been
made in an effort to set up ASEAN+3 Senior Officials Meeting on Education (SOMED+3) as a new mechanism to promote ASEAN+3 educational cooperation.

Policy Recommendations
1. Though the shape and form of the EAc have not yet been clearly defined, it isimportant to reaffirm the long-term goal of building the EAc as it represents thehope and aspiration of countries in East Asia to live in peace and harmony with
one another and with the world at large.
2. At this juncture, there is no need to set a definite timeframe for the realizationof the EAc. The EAc should be built upon the success of ASEAN communitybuilding. The EAc is very much dependent upon ASEAN’s ability to integrate
itself deeper and faster so that it can continue to play a central role and serve asa building block for wider community building in East Asia.
3. As the world’s economic and political center is shifting to East Asia, it isnecessary to maintain the principle of open regionalism otherwise there could
be a suspicion that East Asia community building may lead to the creation of a“Fortress of East Asia”.
4. All stakeholders in East Asia should be welcomed to be part of East Asia
evolving regional architecture in order to allow constructive contribution fromboth inside and outside the region.
5. East Asia community building should not be built on a single structure but on
multiple ones as it is part of multi-layered regional architecture. Existing
fora/processes such as ASEAN, ASEAN+1, APT, EAS, ARF, APEC andASEM should be strengthened and allowed to evolve as they have their own
merit and mandate.
6. To ensure the openness and inclusiveness of East Asia cooperation, several
ideas and initiatives have been proposed for further discussion. These include
ASEAN+3+1 (US or EU) formula which can focus on economic cooperation,ASEAN+8 (China, Japan, ROK, India, Australia, New Zealand, the US andRussia) to be held back to back with APEC Summit, and the expansion of theEAS to include the US and Russia.

7. The basic principle for the evolving regional architecture is that ASEAN
should be the core of this regional structure. The centrality and pro-active roleof ASEAN as the primary driving force in this regional community building
process should be maintained.
8. East Asia should create its own growth by promoting greater intra-regional
trade and re-balancing capital flows for intra-regional investment. EAFTA
under the APT and CEPEA under the EAS should be explored in parallel as
they can complement each other and help address the problem of “noodlebowl”.
9. The current global economic and financial crisis helps strengthen ASEAN+3
financial cooperation. Tangible progress has been made on CMIM, but its
effectiveness is still in doubt until tested. The member countries would bereluctant to use CMIM unless it offers greater flexibility in its lending, which isstill closely tied to the IMF conditionality.
10. East Asia political and security cooperation should be enhanced based oncommon values and shared interests. The ADMM Plus can promote andadvance political and security cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue
partners as well as promoting political and security cooperation in East Asia.
11. Social and cultural cooperation is indispensable in community building in East
Asia as it can help promote better understanding and mutual trust. Education inparticular can play an important role to enhance better understanding andmutual trust. As a result, efforts to establish an ASEAN+3 University Networkand other mechanisms to promote ASEAN+3 educational cooperation should
be welcomed and encouraged.
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