THE East Asia Summit in Bali on 19 November 2011 was a game changer for regional cooperation in more ways than one. It brought together all the major powers in the Asia-Pacific region, including for the first time, Russia and America. Their presence has balanced the Asian giants, China and India, if not actually overshadowing them.

American leaders have highlighted the United States as a Pacific power with interests in the East Asia region. This posture has given a security orientation to U.S. participation in the EAS, raising concerns that it could rekindle big power rivalry in a new Great Game in East Asia. Asian countries, however, have a more nuanced perspective of the emerging regional architecture.

ASEAN’s desire to engage outside powers peacefully is fundamental to its original development of an Asian regional architecture. United in their belief that the inclusion of the United States and Russia would enhance the value, weight and influence of the ASEAN Plus bloc, ASEAN member states have over the years persisted with incremental steps towards regional cooperation and integration. At the Bali Summit, ASEAN reaffirmed its commitment to build an ASEAN Community that would undertake global-level cooperation based on its three pillars of economic, political-security and socio-cultural cooperation.