The East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC) or East Asia Economic Group (EAEG) was a regional free trade zone

Free trade zone

A free trade zone or export processing zone , also called foreign-trade zone, formerly free port is an area within which goods may be landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured, and reexported without the intervention of the customs authorities...

 (FTA) proposed in 1990 by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad

Mahathir bin Mohamad

Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...

 and encompasses the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...

 (ASEAN) member states, China, South Korea and Japan. Japan though refused participation due to the exclusion of the Western nations, which were already members of APEC and many other notable regional organizations in East Asia.

The EAEC was a reaction to ASEAN's integration into the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

 (APEC) by Dr.