EAS, which welcomes two new members, should be a forum for finding common ground not a platform for airing differences

Amid the escalation of territorial disputes over the South China Sea and the debut of two new members, the United States and Russia, the East Asia Summit (EAS) is facing an arduous and complicated task trying to set its agenda in the run-up to its sixth meeting, due to be held in Indonesia on Saturday.

China is an original and core member of the EAS, but whether its political wishes will be realized at the summit and to what extent the summit will influence China's surrounding diplomatic landscape depends on what is on the agenda. The discussions could influence the security environment of the whole East Asia.