Summary of ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was created on 8th August 1967 with five countries members: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.   ASEAN was later joined by Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos and Burma (1997) and Cambodia (1999). Today, ASEAN comprised of 10 member countries above and East Timor as an observer. ASEAN was created to forge cooperation in the economic, social, cultural, technical, educational and other fields among these regional countries.

Additionally, the promotion of regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter are also the reasons for established ASEAN. Before ASEAN was created, there were certain regional disputes among countries in South-East Asian nations such as the Philippines vs Malaysia and Malaysia vs Indonesia. Thailand is the one that helped broker reconciliation to these countries. Thailand minister, Mr. Thanat Khoman, has recalled all these three disputers to negotiate with each other at a beach resort in Thailand and initiated the formation of such an organization known as ASEAN with the goal to contain all those eventual disputes and forge a lasting peace to this SE Asian region as a whole. Coincidently, Singapore has sent its foreign minister to join the newly set-up ASEAN. Its request was accepted. With the newly introduced ASEAN Charter and the set-up of the existing mechanism to prevent and contain the disputes, this region has seen the regional conflicts flare- up become to a much less extent nowadays.

 The development and prosperity of ASEAN countries would be very beneficial whilst no disputes aroused within the region. Meanwhile, these countries need a mutual assistance in shaping their common defence interest that act against any attempt from outside forces to influence and divide up and control the ASEAN community. Those countries have determined to make ASEAN to become a potentially rich region, rich in history, in spiritual as well as material resources and indeed, for the whole ancient continent of Asia. In 1976, there is a treaty of amity among ASEAN countries and in 1995 there is another treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free. From these two treaties, we can assume that ASEAN has gradually entered into several formal and legally-binding instruments.