"CEAC Commentary" introduces news analyses andopinions in Japan on the concept of an East AsianCommunity, but they do not represent the views ofCEAC as an institution.
June 26, 2009

Some Reflections on Aborted Summit in Pattaya
By ISHIGAKI Yasuji
Last April, the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit and the East Asian Summit(EAS) and other ASEAN related summit meetings were all cancelled in spite of thearrival of all the leaders of participating countries at a conference venue in Pattaya,Thailand, after repeated postponements since they were first deferred in December2008. The cancellation was forced after the anti-government protesters stormed thevenue: a happening unprecedented in the whole history of ASEAN. Nevertheless,Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting alone was held at a different location,
which was felt as a sole source of consolation over the events. Certainly, the turmoil
in Pattaya was of a nature of force majeure caused by the domestic politicaldevelopments of Thailand. However, they took place against the background of priorevents: the ASEAN Charter's coming into effect which the ASEAN originallyplanned to celebrate at its Summit to be held in Thailand in December 2008 wasinstead celebrated at a Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Jakarta that month. TheASEAN Summit itself was held at the end of February and issued on 1 March "theCha Am-Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for the ASEAN Community(2009-2015)."
The Thai government spared no effort to work on rescheduling and relocationof APT Summit, EAS and other meetings, but has not been very successful in herattempts. It must be admitted that the momentum of East Asian community building
within APT and ASEAN Plus Six framework has unfortunately been stalled to someextent. Moreover, pursuant to the provision of ASEAN Charter, starting this year,
ASEAN Chair's term-in-office has been changed to run on a calendar year basis.
Therefore, the Thai government is to keep the Chair position, handed over fromSingapore last year, for an 18-month long term through December 2009. This meansthat the timing or the prospect of holding successfully the ASEAN Summit, ASEAN+3 Summit and the East Asia Summit are very closely linked to the domestic
political developments of Thailand.
Under those circumstances, it was quite natural that there arose from among
key members of ASEAN, such as Indonesia, the seat of ASEAN Secretariat, which
has a particular interest and feels responsible for the fate of ASEAN organization,some concern that the holding of ASEAN related summit meetings should not be at
the mercy of political turmoil of the current Chair Thailand, and some flexibility
might be required to change the venue, as necessary, to Jakarta, for example, where1

the ASEAN Secretariat is located. However, the ASEAN, as of now, rules out thatoption.
In the region, a consensus view has been formed that ASEAN should sit in
the "driver’s seat" in community building efforts. But the recent developments might
warrant a review of such a view. In the meantime, the First Japan-China-ROK
Trilateral Summit was successfully held in Fukuoka in December 2008, outside ofASEAN summit framework. as a notable instance of a dialogue towards regional
cooperation pursued independently of ASEAN.
On April 27, Nakasone Hirofumi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan,
invited all the ambassadors of the participating states of EAS to a reception in Tokyo,
where he explained Prime Minister Aso Taro’s policy speech, originally prepared for
Pattaya Summit, on the subject of "Japan's contribution to Asia affected by current
global economic and financial crisis”. At the annual meeting of the TrilateralCommission recently held in Tokyo, a Chinese delegate is said to have indicated anew trend of thought by referring to the importance of strengthening regional
cooperation among ASEAN Plus Six countries. In the U.S., Kurt M. Campbell wasnominated to be Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,
signaling a new U.S. diplomatic lineup and fresh consideration for East Asianinitiatives. In this way, a variety of moves are in progress while regional cooperation
among ASEAN countries seems to be somewhat at a standstill. It is very much hoped
all the more in a situation like this that government officials, intellectuals andbusiness leaders of ASEAN Pus Six countries, U.S. and other interested states, intheir respective capacity, explore new initiatives for regional cooperation, and comeup with fresh ideas through frank exchange of views.
(This is the English translation of an article written by Mr. ISHIGAKI Yasuji, Delegate forJapan to AALCO and Former Professor of Tokai University, which originally appeared on
the BBS “Hyakka-Somei” of CEAC on May 1, 2009.)

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