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KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Japan, a participant of the first East
Asia Summit (EAS), will help develop the EAS into a framework that will
contribute to regional development, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
said here Saturday.
This will be accomplished through discussions on the modality of future
regional cooperation with three aspects serving as its pillars, he said.
The areas are "open regionalism", "respect for universal values such as
democracy and human rights as well as observation of global rules such as those
of the World Trade Organization (WTO)" and "promotion of practical cooperation
in socioeconomic affairs and untraditional security areas."
"Japan recognizes the East Asia Summit as a place to conduct strategic discussion
on the principles and basic rules of regional cooperation from a
broader perspective," Koizumi said in an interview with the Malaysian national
news agency Bernama.
The Japanese prime minister will attend the EAS here, one of the summits to
be held in conjunction with the 11th ASEAN Summit from Dec. 12-14.
Expressing Japan's support for the materialization of an East Asia Free
Trade Area (EAFTA) in the years to come, he said it is an idea that will
facilitate economic growth by way of increased trade and investment
opportunities within the region.
EAFTA, an ambitious proposal for the evolution of the EAS, will be an integral element
of the East Asian Community. It encompasses a market of nearly 2 billion
people with a combined gross domestic product of 8 trillion US dollars.
The formation of an EAFTA is one of the nine medium to long-term measures
in the recommendations presented by the East Asia Study Group Report.
The EAS, Koizumi noted, will provide a historical opportunity for ASEAN member countries and its other participants, -- Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India -- to conduct discussions on the modality of desirable regional cooperation in the future with a view to building an East Asian community. Enditem | 
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