Context:
Prime Minister (PM) attended the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Vientiane, Lao PDR
East Asia Summit (EAS):
- Established in 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Aim – Promoting peace, stability, and economic prosperity in East Asia.
- Participants – 18 members
- 10 ASEAN Member States and India, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the US.
- 10 ASEAN Members – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
- Priority Areas of Cooperation – Environment and Energy, Education, Finance, Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases, Natural Disaster Management and ASEAN Connectivity
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):
- Establishment – In 1967, with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration
- Founding members – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
- Objective – To promote political and social stability amid rising tensions among the Asia-Pacific’s post-colonial states.
- Motto – “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.
- ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
- 3 pillar structure of ASEAN –
- ASEAN Political-Security Community
- ASEAN Economic Community
- ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community
- Current members – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia
- Chairmanship – Rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States.
- 8th August – ASEAN Day.
- ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Meeting – Platform for ASEAN and its partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.
- ADMM-Plus Countries – 10 ASEAN Member States and plus 8 countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and the United States.
Read more about India-ASEAN: Free Trade Agreement
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
Consider the following countries:
1. Australia
2. Canada
3. China
4. India
5. Japan
6. USA
Which of the above are among the ‘free-trade partners’ of ASEAN?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2018 Prelims]
(a) 1, 2, 4 and 5
(b) 3, 4, 5 and 6
(c) 1, 3, 4 and 5
(d) 2, 3, 4 and 6
Answer: (c)
