countries from this idea. Japan especially, felt compromised by this due to its geopolitical situation. Mahathir tried to support the idea by stressing that the EAEC conforms with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), but this step also brought hardly any results. The exclusion of Oceania was also found especially unfitting. Japan could not go along with this, not at least during the beginning of the 1990s, as it was re-orienting itself after the complete collapse of the Eastern Bloc amid the Revolutions of 1989 and the end of the Cold War. Perspectives As a result, the original concept of EAEC was very difficult to implement. Besides these difficulties, Mahathir's concept committed Japan to be the leading power. However, Japan could not afford such a perspective at the time, as it was closely allied to the United States since its defeat in World War II five decades prior, and as a result has an economy deeply linked through trade ever since. South Korea was also extremely dissatisfied with Japan being placed at the center of the proposed organization due to the historical connotations of Japan ruling over Korean economic affairs, and would not support the possibility of Japanese economic hegemony in the region. Countries intended to be involved The countries that were supposed to compose the East Asia Economic Caucus were: See also East Asia Summit East Asian Community Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership References Further reading N Ganesan: Bi-Lateral Tensions in Post-Cold War ASEAN, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1999. External links Asiaweek.com "ASEAN+3=EAEC" Organizations associated with ASEAN East Asia Southeast Asia Economy of East Asia Economy of Southeast Asia