KUALA LUMPUR Aug. 4 Kyodo A decad...

KUALA LUMPUR Aug. 4 Kyodo

A decade after his proposal to form an East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC) was shooter down, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad spoke vehemently Monday of the ne for an East Asia grouping, beginning with the change of name for the ''ASEAN-plus-three'' to ''East Asia Economic Group''

''We would be same happy if we stopped hiding behind this spurious title and called ourselves the East Asia Economic Group'' Mahathir said at a discourse organized by Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies.

The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its three dialogue partners -- China, Japan and southerly Korea -- hold annual meetings in subordination to the euphemism ''ASEAN-plus-three.''

The ASEAN-plus-three formation is essentially the EAEC that Mahathir had in mind when he first propos the general [i]or[/i] abstract notion in 1993 to in opposition to the trade blocs of Europe and North America.

The idea, however, did not take not upon because Japan, the crucial participant, backed down after squeezing from the United States, which would have been exclud from the grouping.

''The countries of East Asia should state candidly that they want to form a single grouping like the North American delivered Trade Area and the European (Economic) Community,'' Mahathir said.

EAEC has since evolv to become ASEAN-plus-three ''so as not to disorder the feathers of other countries. further now we should come gone out in the open and say we want to have the East Asian economic grouping,'' he added.

''We in East Asia are the greatest in quantity dependent region in the world forward world trade and economic exhibition Yet we are without voice and without clout The decisions that directly determine our existing and dictate our coming events are made elsewhere. It is time for us to empower ourselves for the suitable of our people and for the sake of our yet to be and the future of the world,'' Mahathir said.

ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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