The Origins
KNOWN IN FULL as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN is an international organisation that was established by the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, in 1967 with the intention of accelerating economic growth, social progress, and cultural development, as well as promote peace and security in Southeast Asia (SEA). It’s now made up of 10 countries: Brunei joined the organisation in 1984, followed by Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999.
ASEAN also functions as a nonpolitical platform that maintains peace and stability amongst member states and external partners. First constituted on July 31, 1961 with Malaya, Thailand and the Philippines as members, ASEAN was originally known as the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), but fell short of becoming a viable regional grouping. The failure was due to numerous factors, including ASA’s inability to obtain endorsements from other Southeast Asian countries, most crucially Indonesia, and the breakdown of bilateral relations between two of its members – Malaya and the Philippines – over the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
However, thanks to an improvement later in the multilateral ties marked by the end of Indonesia’s Confrontation policy in August 1966 against Malaysia, and the normalisation of relations between Malaysia and the Philippines, ASA was able to begin discussions on including more members into the organisation.
The ASEAN Declaration of 1967 is considered ASEAN’s founding document and formalises the principles of peace and cooperation to which ASEAN is dedicated towards achieving. Later, in 1976, the members signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, which emphasises the mutual respect and noninterference in other countries’ affairs.
After the resolution of Cambodia’s civil war in 1991, the end of the Cold War and the normalisation of relations between the United States and Vietnam in 1995, there was relative peace in mainland SEA, which paved the way for other states to join the original five countries.
After the addition of Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, initiatives were launched to boost regionalism and a treaty signed in 1995, for example, stated that the countries within the ASEAN agreement, would refrain from developing, acquiring, or possessing nuclear weapons.
The first few joint development programmes that were undertaken by ASEAN included projects
