To create more opportunities for greater sports and cultural exchanges between the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the East Asian region, the idea of the East Asian Games was officially proposed at the 1st Assembly of the East Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) on 15 September 1991. In November the same year, at the 2nd Coordination Meeting of the East Asian NOCs, the quadrennial East Asian Games was formally approved and the inauguration edition scheduled to be held in China in 1993.

At the 3rd Coordination Meeting of the East Asian NOCs held in Beijing on 27 January 1992, the Coordination Committee of the East Asian National Olympic Committees (EANOC) was officially established and its Charter passed. It was determined at this meeting that the 1st East Asian Games would be held in Shanghai, China from 9 to 18 May 1993.

Later at the 6th EANOC Meeting held in Shanghai on 17 May 1993, EANOC was renamed to its present title, the East Asian Games Association (EAGA).

Members of EAGA are the National Olympic Committees (NOC) in the East Asian Zone as defined by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). These include the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, Macao, China, Mongolia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Chinese Taipei.

Extracted from the website of the Macau 4th East Asian Games 2005