The second East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting was held at the Toranomon Pastoral Hotel, Tokyo, Japan, from 14 to 17 July 2008. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF) of Japan hosted the Meeting. The Meeting was attended by delegates from PEMSEA Partner countries namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, as well as delegates from non-State Partners namely: Conservation International (CI); Coastal Management Center (CMC); International EMECS Center; IOC/WESTPAC; International Ocean Institute (IOI); Korea Maritime Institute (KMI); Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP); Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF); Oil Spill Response and East Asia Response Limited (OSRL/EARL); Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML); and UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea LME Project. Observers represented at the Meeting were: the Government of Thailand; the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG); and the UNEP COBSEA Secretariat. The GEF Implementing Agency was represented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Manila and the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok. The PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) served as the Secretariat.

The East Asian Seas Partnership Council is established in accordance with the Partnership Operating Arrangements for the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). The Inaugural Meeting of the EAS Partnership Council was held at the Huandao Tide Hotel, Haikou City, Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China, on 16 December 2006. The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) of China hosted the Meeting.