East Asian summit may be held in 2005: Ong<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
An East Asian Summit could be convened as early as next year, the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretary general
\nOng Keng Yong said on Wednesday, in a move that would boost the
\nregion's ambitions of forming a single community.<\/p>\n
\"Right now, I can tell you that there are at least two offers
\non the table to have an East Asian summit next year,\" Ong said in
\na keynote address to a forum on relations between China and the
\nASEAN here.<\/p>\n
One offer came from an ASEAN country while the other was from
\nChina, he said.<\/p>\n
The region's foreign ministers who met in Qingdao, China, this
\nweek also supported the idea of an East Asian summit, Ong said,
\nquoting a joint statement from the meeting, but it gave no
\ntimetable for such a gathering.<\/p>\n
Ong's remarks marked the first time that a top official had
\ngiven a potential timeline for the proposed summit.<\/p>\n
Currently, leaders of the 10 ASEAN nations, China, Japan and
\nSouth Korea, meet annually under a loose framework called the
\nASEAN Plus Three meeting on regional cooperation.<\/p>\n
Analysts and diplomats have said a more formal East Asian
\nSummit would replace the ASEAN Plus Three framework and
\nunderscore the region's seriousness in pursuing a goal to achieve
\na European Union-style single market and community by 2020.<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
\nMyanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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