Recently, the Prime Minister of India attended the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
The main points of the trip:
The Prime Minister advocated a development-oriented Indo-Pacific approach instead of expansionism.
Support to Nalanda University was reiterated and EAS members were invited to the Conference of Heads of Higher Education.
It discussed global challenges such as terrorism, cyber and maritime threats and emphasised on dialogue-based conflict resolution.
The Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes to Malaysia for assuming the Chairmanship of ASEAN as its new Chair and expressed India’s full support for the same. The current president of ASEAN is Lao PDR.
East Asia Summit (EAS):
EAS was established in 2005 as an initiative led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Its first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.
The EAS is the only leadership forum in the Indo-Pacific region that brings together all major partners to discuss political, security and economic issues of strategic importance.
The idea of East Asia grouping was first proposed by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad in 1991.
Objective:
The EAS is based on the principles of openness, inclusiveness, respect for international law, ASEAN centrality and ASEAN’s role as a driving force.
Members:
EAS is a premier forum for strategic dialogue in the Indo-Pacific region comprising 18 countries including ASEAN members.
The EAS comprises 18 members i.e. 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and eight dialogue partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States).
Importance:
On the economic front:
In 2023, EAS members will represent about 53% of the world’s population and contribute about 60% of global GDP.
India is ASEAN’s seventh largest trading partner, while ASEAN is India’s fourth largest partner. India-ASEAN trade has doubled to over US $130 billion in the last ten years.
Strategically:
Connectivity projects, both infrastructure and digital, in South-East Asian countries are critical to India’s Act East Policy, with major initiatives such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand Highway and Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport promoting regional connectivity with East Asian countries.
India is also engaged in capacity building through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme with South-East Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
In terms of culture:
Buddhism is a major cultural and religious tradition, connecting various South-East Asian and East Asian countries, it originated in India.
The revival of Nalanda University and support to the International Buddhist Confederation will enhance India’s spiritual and cultural ties with Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia and demonstrate its commitment to promote Buddhist traditions.
