Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pressed Asia-Pacific nations today to back his proposal for a more powerful regional group that will embrace political, security and economic issues by 2020.
"Our proposal for an Asia-Pacific Community seeks to do this," he said ahead of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that includes US President Barack Obama and his Chinese, Japanese and Russian counterparts.
Rudd said no existing institution was designed to address the full range of issues facing the region. Political and security issues are not part of the mission of APEC, founded 20 years ago to promote free trade and investment among Pacific Rim nations.
"It makes sense for us as we think of ourselves for the next quarter of a century as a region to have America inextricably involved in what we are doing, however our debate about regional institutions may unfold," Rudd said.
Rudd said his proposal "seeks to bring together in a single institution over time the economies and countries of our region with an agenda which covers the entire space, not just part of it."
APEC is "just a gathering of economies" and the East Asian Summit, built around the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), excludes the United States, Rudd noted.
