At 15th East Asia Summit, Jaishankar brings up territorial integrity & sovereignty again

Context

• External Affairs Minister emphasised, the importance of adhering to international law, “respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty”, and promoting a rules-based global order.

Key highlights

• The virtual summit meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and witnessed the participation of all the 18 EAS countries.
• The summit discussed ways to strengthen the EAS platform and to make it more responsive to emerging challenges on its 15th anniversary.
• It adopted the Ha Noi Declaration.
• Regional and international issues such as the South China Sea, situation in Korean peninsula and Rakhine state were also discussed.
• Besides the Hanoi Declaration, the summit also adopted four other leaders’ statements on Marine Sustainability; Epidemics Prevention and Response; Women, Peace and Security; and Steady Growth of Regional Economy.

East-Asia Summit

• It was established in 2005.
• The EAS is a premier leaders-led forum for discussions on important strategic issues in the Indo-Pacific, and a leading confidence-building mechanism in the region.
• The EAS is a regional grouping of 18 participating countries –10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US. India is a founding member of the EAS.
• The 18 members of the EAS together represent 54% of the world population and account for 58% of the global GDP.
• It is a vital part of the regional security architecture