East Asian leaders argue shared culture justifies regional economic union

Evidence

East Asian societies undoubtedly share some things in common which differentiate them from the West. Malaysia’s prime minister, Mahathir Mohammad, argues that these commonalities provide a basis for association and has promoted formation of the East Asian Economic Caucus on these grounds. It would include the ASEAN countries, Myanmar, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and, most important, China and Japan. Mahathir argues that the EAEC is rooted in a common culture. It should be thought of “not just as a geographical group, because it is in East Asia, but also as a cultural group. Although East Asians may be Japanese or Koreans or Indonesians, culturally they have certain similarities. … Europeans flock together and Americans flock together. We Asians should flock together as well.” — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 361