Greetings,
"The Council on East Asian Community (CEAC) E-Letter" is delivered electronically once every month, free of charge, to readers in the world interested in Japanese thinking on an East Asian Community and other related international affairs by the Council on East Asian Community (CEAC), all-Japan intellectual platform for the study of an East Asian Community.
It will provide the global audience with our news on "CEAC Commentary of the Month" and "CEAC Updates."
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ITO Kenichi
President, CEAC
"CEAC Commentary of the Month"
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"CEAC Commentary of the Month" presents a monthly publication of views of members of CEAC on an East Asian Community and other related international affairs. The views expressed herein are the author's own and should not be attributed to CEAC.
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Make Better Use of APEC for Building East Asian Community
By YAMAZAWA Ippei
Professor Emeritus of Hitotsubashi University
Recently an East Asian Community has been discussed at conferences and symposia and appeared frequently in the title of newly published books. In the 1990s, APEC was the focus of regional cooperation in the Asia Pacific. A paradigm has shifted from APEC to an East Asian Community. Media has lost interest in APEC and young scholars know little about it. Nevertheless, APEC is still alive. Presidents and Prime Ministers of the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Australia, and ASEAN member countries gather every year at APEC Economic Leaders Meeting as well as have a close conversation with business leaders of APEC Business Advisory Council. Government officials and private sector experts of member economies meet regularly to implement steady measures of trade and investment facilitation and economic and technical cooperation in the region.
The paradigm shift occurred in the recovery process from the Asian currency crisis in 1997-98. The crisis hit directly ASEAN countries and Korea. The Chiang Mai initiative started in order to prevent its recurrence and the ASEAN plus Three was organized. ASEAN has utilized effectively its diplomatic practice of the Expanded ASEAN Summit and invited all East Asian leaders at the time of ASEAN Summit. Both East Asia FTA and an East Asia Community have been discussed on these occasions. On the other hand, APEC reached its peak with Bogor Declaration, Osaka Action Agenda, and Manila Action Plans in 1993-1996 and its momentum has reduced substantially since 1997 as its liberalization outcome turned out to be much less than had been expected. Furthermore, some ASEAN members and China have other reasons for preferring ASEAN plus Three to APEC.
An East Asian Community cannot be achieved easily. ASEAN plus Three has a solid base for building an economic community in order for East Asia to survive the global competition, but they face big challenges to realizing it. At the driver's sheet of ASEAN plus Three, ASEAN is trying hard to strengthen its capability. ASEAN members adopted ASEAN Charter and announced that it would achieve an economic community by 2015. But they cannot take strong initiative in economic cooperation, partly because of remaining gaps in development among themselves. There still remain conflicts between ASEAN plus Three members over political and security issues, which inevitably prevent their economic integration. It is not clear yet how they manage their relations with North America and Oceania. APEC can provide developing members with technical expertise and experiences which are now missing in the process of building an East Asian Community. We had better make use of APEC for such a purpose, rather than abandon it as a relic of the past.
APEC is scheduled to be hosted by Singapore in 2009, by Japan in 2010, and by the United States in 2011. We wish to see APEC proceed further to complement an East Asian Community building under the leadership of these competent hosts.
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For more views and opinions in the backnumber of "CEAC Commentary," the list of which for the past six months is as follows, please refer to:
http://www.ceac.jp/e/commentary/backnumber.html
No.45 Ethnic Problem and Community Building
by TAKITA Kenji, Professor of Chuo University
(16 April, 2008)
No.44 Establishment of a "Food Safety" system in East Asia
by YASUE Noriko, Professor of Ritsumeikan University
(12 March, 2008)
No.43 Will the U.S-Japan Alliance Become Dispensable?
by SUZUKI Keisuke, Member of the House of Representative
(Lieberal Democratic Party)
(13 February 2008)
No.42 The Singapore Summits and its Implications for an East Asian Community
by ISHIGAKI Yasuji, Professor of Tokai University Law School
(19 January, 2008)
No.41 Aiming for Multi-Layered System of an East Asian Community and an East Asian Economic Cooperation Organization
by NAKASONE Yasuhiro, Chairman of CEAC and former Prime Minister of Japan
(4 December, 2007)
"CEAC Updates"
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"CEAC Updates" introduces to you the latest events, announcements and/or publications of CEAC.
Event
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The 26th Policy Plenary Meeting Discussing the China's Stance towards an East Asian Community Held
The 26th Policy Plenary Meeting of the Council on East Asian Community (CEAC) was held on 21 May at the conference room of Japan Forum on International Relations to discuss the China's Stance towards an East Asian Community. Prof. AMAKO Satoshi, Member of CEAC and Professor of Waseda University, made a keynote speech followed by comments by Prof. ITO Kenichi, President of CEAC, and lively discussions among participants.
For more, please refer to:
http://www.ceac.jp/e/policy-summary/026.html
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