[Title] Chairman's Statement of the Second East Asia Summit
1. The Second East Asia Summit chaired by H.E. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines was held on 15 January 2007 in Cebu City, the Republic of the Philippines.
2. The Heads of State/Government of ASEAN, Australia, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand had a productive exchange of views on regional and international issues, as well as on issues of strategic importance to the East Asian region.
Poverty Eradication
3. We reaffirmed our commitment to the eradication of poverty in East Asia. We resolved that improving the standard of living for our people should remain a central focus of our regional cooperation efforts. We also confirmed our commitment to achieve the target and objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's).
Energy
4. As a priority area for the second East Asia Summit, we convened a special session on energy to achieve our shared goal of ensuring affordable energy sources for development in our region. We expressed appreciation for the background paper prepared by the ASEAN Secretariat, and agreed that discussions should take into consideration :
a. energy security
b. renewable and alternative energy sources
c. energy efficiency and conservation, and
d. climate change
5. To this end, we signed the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security, which aims to achieve the following goals:
a. Improve the efficiency and environmental performance of fossil fuel use;
b. Reduce dependence on conventional fuels through intensified energy efficiency and conservation programs, hydropower, expansion of renewable energy systems and bio-fuel production/utilization, and for interested parties, civilian nuclear power;
c. Encourage the development of open and competitive regional and international markets geared towards providing affordable energy at all economic levels;
d. Mitigate greenhouse gas emission through effective policies and measures, thus contributing to global climate change abatement; and
e. Pursue and encourage investment in energy resource and infrastructure development through greater private sector involvement
6. We welcomed the various project proposals made on cooperation in energy security, including Japan's four-pillar initiative entitled "Fueling Asia - Japan's Cooperation Initiative for Clean Energy and Sustainable Growth." We agreed to establish an EAS Energy Cooperation Task Force, based on the existing ASEAN Energy Sectoral mechanisms, to follow up on our discussion and report on its recommendations at our next Summit. We welcomed Singapore's offer to host an EAS Energy Ministers Meeting to consider ways to enhance energy cooperation.
Education
7. We agreed to strengthen regional educational cooperation, noting that we could tap the region's centers of excellence in education for this purpose. Noting proposals to renew our historical ties, we welcomed initiatives such as the revival of the Nalanda University in India, to improve regional understanding and the appreciation of one another's heritage and history.
Finance
8. We recognized that sustaining economic growth and stability in the region will require continued efforts to develop deeper, more diversified and better-integrated financial markets, and to strengthen regional mechanisms to prevent and manage financial crises. We welcomed closer cooperation among EAS participating countries and agreed to task officials to develop proposals to this end for our consideration at our next Summit.
Avian Influenza
9. We recalled that at the First East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, we adopted the EAS Declaration on Avian Influenza Prevention, Control and Response. We expressed concern over some continuing cases of avian influenza in the region, and we reaffirmed our commitment to coordinate efforts and to increase cooperation in addressing this challenge including ensuring the availability of medicine and health personnel protection measures.
Natural Disaster Mitigation
10. Noting that natural disasters have caused tremendous loss of life and damage to property in the region in recent years, we agreed to strengthen our cooperation to improve our natural disaster response preparedness and mitigation. We identified closer coordination among our national emergency response and management mechanisms as a specific area for this cooperation.
Doha Development Agenda
11. We reaffirmed our commitment to the World Trade Organization's Doha Round and urged WTO members to restart negotiations as soon as possible. We called on all members to work towards the achievement of a balanced and ambitious outcome to expand opportunities in agriculture, industry and services, and to realize global development objectives.
Economic Development and Regional Integration
12. We welcomed ASEAN's efforts towards further integration and community building, and reaffirmed our resolve to work closely together in narrowing development gaps in our region. We reiterated our support for ASEAN's role as the driving force for economic integration in this region. To deepen integration, we agreed to launch a Track Two study on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) among EAS participants. We tasked the ASEAN Secretariat to prepare a time frame for the study and to invite all our countries to nominate their respective participants in it.
We welcomed Japan's proposal for an Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
Interfaith Initiatives
13. We welcomed the contribution of interfaith and intercultural dialogue in building mutual trust, respect and cooperation between our peoples, and in enhancing regional peace and security. The importance of educational material, including curriculums, and of training centers for promoting understanding across different religions, societies and cultures, was recognized. We welcomed the specific proposal made for a Dialogue among East Asian Cultures, Societies and Faith, as we expressed support for various initiatives in this area now underway in the region, including the Asia Pacific Regional Dialogue, the ASEM Interfaith Dialogue, and the UN's Alliance of Civilizations.
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
14. Reaffirming our views that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful and verifiable manner is a critical international objective, we expressed grave concern over the recent nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. We urged the DRPK to desist from conducting further tests, to take concrete and effective steps to fully implement the 19 September 2005 Joint Statement, and to rejoin, at an early date, the Nucelar{sic} Non-Proliferation Treaty. We also urged the DPRK to actively address the security and humanitarian concerns of the international community, including serious shortages of food, medical and other humanitarian services in North Korea, as well as the abduction issue.
15. We emphasized our strong support for the Six Party Talks, and reaffirmed our conviction that the Talks should result in more tangible progress in addressing outstanding issues.
16. While encouraging every diplomatic option remains a very high priority, we agreed on the need to remain consistent in conveying to the DPRK the international community's disapproval of actions that threaten the peace and security of our region and the world. In this regard, we reaffirmed our commitment to the full implementation of UNSC Resolutions 1695 and 1718, urged North Korea to respect these resolutions, and discussed how we could work together to ensure their effectiveness.
Future Direction of the EAS
17. We agreed to initiate concrete projects in all the five priority EAS cooperation areas before our next Summit. We also agreed that our officials and the ASEAN Secretariat will use existing mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of these projects.
18. We recognized our progress in building confidence among EAS participants and encouraged an open and continuing exchange of views on issues of strategic importance to the region. We expressed our conviction that the EAS should remain outward looking, with ASEAN as the driving force working in close partnership with other participants of the East Asia Summit.
19. We reaffirmed our position that the East Asia Summit is an important component of the emerging regional architecture, and we confirmed our view that the EAS complements other existing regional mechanisms, including the ASEAN dialogue process, the ASEAN+3 process, the ARF, and APEC in community building efforts. We underscored the value of open and spontaneous Leaders-led discussions on strategic issues of peace and stability in our region and in the world.
20. To implement our decisions, we tasked our Officials and the ASEAN Secretariat to continue coordination within the framework of existing ASEAN mechanisms. We commended the work of the ASEAN Secretariat in establishing the EAS electronic network to help ensure closer coordination and cooperation.
21. We agreed to convene the third East Asia Summit in Singapore on 21 November 2007.