East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC)

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East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC)

The EAEC is a regional Free Trade Zone (FTA) proposed in 1990 by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad and encompasses the ASEAN member states, China, South Korea and Japan. Japan though refused participation out of its loyalty to the US. The EAEC was a reaction to ASEAN's integration into the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) by Dr.Mahathir, who is known for his strong Asian standpoint (i.e. 'Look East Policy') and is said to articulate his dissatisfaction with including Western nations. Therefore EAEC is basically an APEC without America and Australia. Nevertheless, it was never put into action officially. Recently the ASEAN+3 rounds might be called the successor of EAEC, which prompts Malaysia to state that EAEC was a reality.

Sources

N Ganesan: Bi-Lateral Tensions in Post-Cold War ASEAN, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1999.

Links

- [Asiaweek.com "ASEAN+3=EAEC"]

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