Growing economic integration and political cooperation among countries in East Asia have increasingly been associated with aspirations to build an East Asia regional community. As integration and political cooperation grow in the region and these countries move toward community, however, it is crucial to ensure that the United States and East Asia remain constructively engaged. 

In cooperation with the United States Asia Pacific Council, a program of the East-West Center, JCIE launched a joint study and dialogue in 2004 that explores Asian actors’ incentives, goals, and visions of regional community; potential US reactions; and ways of guiding community-building efforts so that they meet the interests of all parties by enhancing stability and prosperity in the region. The program was carried out as part of the Asia Pacific Agenda Project (APAP), and participants discussed the project’s initial findings at the 10th APAP Forum, held on February 25–26, 2005, in Tokyo, and again at the 11th APAP Forum, held on October 23–24, 2005, in Washington, DC. Both meetings were attended by prominent experts from Japan and the United States.