Identity may be based on various factors like class or caste, language, state, religion, nation and even continent. In the process a person acquires multiple identities and depending on a particular situation, one of the identities may dominate. In the twenty-first century, identities may also be based on regions and regional organisations promote a pan-regional identity among their people. This article examines whether it is possible for a region like East Asia to form an identity and whether cultural identities take shape and develop because of regional organisations, since the success or failure of such endeavours influence the evolution of integration. Accordingly, natural geographical and cultural boundaries as well as “identity” in the East Asian context, as shaped by cultural, economic, historical, political, religious and security factors, are analysed.
