ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the emergence of two inter-related regional frameworks, APT and EAS. The use of the term ‘frameworks’ denotes that these are not organisations or even institutions but rather a system of mostly intergovernmental meetings for fostering regional co-operation and integration. Neither APT nor EAS has a secretariat or any other permanent co-ordinating agency, yet this does not appear to have hindered the quite significant progress made by APT-led co-operation in particular. The APT framework was established in December 1997 at an inaugural summit convened in Kuala Lumpur. Its membership comprises the ten ASEAN member states plus the three Northeast Asian states of China, Japan and South Korea. The inaugural APT summit was of some historic importance as it was the first time the leaders of most East Asian countries had met together as an exclusive regional grouping.
