Asean leaders back Japan's EAC

       "There is no need to decide now whether we should include the United States or not."YUKIO HATOYAMA JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER
       PM rules out rushing into rigid structure
       CHA-AM:Asean leaders have backed Japan's East Asian Community concept but cautioned that it will not become reality overnight.
       The Japanese-proposed idea overshadowed the meeting of the East Asia summit yesterday which brought together 10 Asean leaders and their six partners from China, Japan, South Korea,India, Australia and New Zealand.
       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said after the meeting of 16 leaders that Asean agreed with Japan's East Asian Community (EAC)proposal but said it would not be realised in the next two or three years.
       The EAC needed more study starting with a meeting of officials in early December in Australia to seek more details of the concept, a government source said.
       Although the road to the EAC needed more debate, Mr Abhisit said the EAC should not be separated from existing cooperation with Asean.
       Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said the Japanese concept showed that East Asia would become a significant community. Both the Japanese and Australian prime ministers also agreed on the importance of Asean, he said.
       In the chairman's statement released at the end of the meeting, Japan said the EAC would be based on the "principle of openness, transparency and inclusiveness and functional cooperation".
       An issue which remains to be debated
       is the role of the US in the EAC.
       Under President Barack Obama, the US wants to play a bigger role in Asia.The new Japanese government has also made clear its position that its alliance with the US is the cornerstone of its policy.
       Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said on Saturday the EAC concept should have some room for the US to play.
       But Mr Hatoyama reacted cautiously to the US involvement yesterday.
       "It's not a matter of who will be included or not. There is no need to decide now whether we should include the United States or not," he said.
       "I think my long-term vision of forming an East Asian Community was largely welcomed by participants."
       Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told the Bangkok Post "we are quite open" to a US role."The whole concept of an East Asian Community should be open in the sense that we should be able to relate to other countries as well.
       "We engage with them and we should see to what extent we can integrate them within the concept of the East Asian Community," he said.
       Mr Najib said advancing the concept should be done in stages.
       Malaysia looks forward to the vision of the EAC, he said, adding that the notion of "this viable economic grouping" has already taken root.
       He said apart from the Asean plus three (China, Japan and South Korea)summit, free trade agreements have already been signed by Asean on one hand and China, Japan and South Korea on the other."So we are [already] moving forward and the three countries China, Japan and South Korea - are very supportive of Asean," he said.
       Australian Prime Minster Kevin Rudd, who first presented his "Asia Pacific community" idea in June last year, told leaders on the sidelines of the summit that his plan centred on increasing regional cooperation in areas of the economy, security and the environment.
       "What I detect across the region is an openness to a discussion about how we evolve our regional architecture into the future," said Mr Rudd, who has put a long-term time frame on his plan -2020.
       Asked about the proposals of Australia and Japan, Mr Abhisit said Southeast Asian leaders had emphasised that it was not all that important to decide on some kind of rigid structure for the time being.
       But the prime minister said the "regional architecture will continue to evolve and we must find a way to improve upon the way we work together to address the issue".BANGKOK POST AND REUTERS
       WHO DID WHAT Key results of the Asean summit. Asean
       6 free trade agreements signed with six countries at the East Asia summit
       Implementation this year of the US$120 billion (4 trillion baht) Chiang Mai Initiative China
       Pledge of $10 billion to the China-Asean Fund on Investment and Cooperation
       Pledge of $15 billion for commercial credit Pledge of $200 million to the Asian Bonds Market Initiative
       Pledge of $100,000 to the Asean Foundation to promote people and cultural ties India
       Pledge of $50 million to the Asean-India Cooperation Fund and Asean Development Fund Japan
       Contribution of $13 million to the Japan-Asean Integration Fund for disaster management and emergency response South Korea.