本文主要目的在分析東協國家對此一波「東亞區域」合作與整合的認知差異，以此分析此一波以東協為核心的東亞合作發展的前景。東亞區域經濟合作與整合是一個多元且複雜的過程，此一波的合作中，東協國家始終強調要扮演掌舵者的角色，並堅持各項以「東協加三」為基礎的合作都要在東協的組織架構中進行，希望對東亞區域的合作議程有實際的主導權。然而，在實踐上，東協國家之間的合作模式本來就較容易受外力的影響，面對中國、日本所提議不同版本的合作，東協成員之間有不同程度的吸引及排斥，也造成了東協所主導的東亞合作只能在協調東協內部與抗拒外部競爭中磨合前進。

The purpose of this paper is to examine perceived differences among the ASEAN countries toward East Asia regional cooperation and integration, and to analyze the prospect of recent regional cooperation with ASEAN members in the foremost position of such development. Regional economic cooperation and integration in East Asia is a diversified and complicated process. Since the beginning, ASEAN countries have been emphasizing on their principal role in leading the process. They want to play a dominant role in influencing the agenda by insisting any cooperation on the basis of “ASEAN Plus Three” must be under the ASEAN organizational structure. In practice, the model of cooperation within ASEAN itself is prone to receive external influence. Confounded by different versions of cooperation proposed by China and Japan, ASEAN members have mixed reactions in various degrees, which contribute to the fact that the ASEAN-led East Asia cooperation can only proceed by attuning its internal differences and resisting external competitions.