Sixteen leaders attending Monday's 2nd East Asia Summit (EAS) will sign a declaration on energy security which would help shape a common regional policy for energy issues, including the development and use of alternative and renewable forms of energy.

In a Chairperson Statement of the 12th ASEAN Summit which was released here Sunday, ASEAN leaders said they "looked forward to signing" the Cebu Declaration on Energy Security.

"We tasked our officials to continue working with our EAS partners in coming up with concrete projects to enhance our energy security," the leaders said.

The 16 countries attending the 2nd EAS are the 10 ASEAN members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and ASEAN Plus Three: China, Japan, Republic of Korea and three additional members of the EAS: India, Australia and New Zealand.

The meeting of EAS foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 26, 2006 identified energy, finance, education, avian flu and national disaster mitigation as the priority issues for the 2nd EAS.

The Philippines, the host of the 2nd EAS, has also said the failure of the Doha Round will be on the agenda.

Source: Xinhua