A Meeting of Experts was conducted as one of the side meetings of the EAS Congress 2006 at the China Institute for Reform and Development in Haikou City, PR China. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the development of an efficient and cost-effective monitoring system involving stakeholders at the national and local levels, as well as the production of a State of the Coasts (SOC) report every three years. Fourteen experts representing Australia, France, PR China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the meeting. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Aprilani Soegiarto, Advisor, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and Dr. Gil Jacinto, Professor, Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines.