What Is ASEAN?

John Walsh, Shinawatra University, April 2007

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regionally-

based international organisation with ten members. ASEAN was created

in 1967 with five members: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia

and the Philippines. In a region divided by the Cold War and with

warfare threatening Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, there was a need for

an international forum to promote peace and security, as well as

economic growth. Since the governmental types of its members were

both different and antagonistic towards each other, ASEAN has

functioned from the beginning on the principle of non-interference. That

is, no ASEAN government will criticize in public what another ASEAN

government does in its own territory. Of course, private conversation is

quite a different matter, although even so few heads of state in the region

have ever been willing to listen to criticism from anyone else.

In addition to the five original members, Brunei joined in 1984, Vietnam

in 1995, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999.

The ten members have a total population of half a billion people and a

combined GDP of some $700 billion. Although many people in the

region are poor, there are millions of wealthy people, while the island

state of Singapore is one of the most advanced economies of the world.

What Is ASEAN?

John Walsh, Shinawatra University, April 2007

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regionally-

based international organisation with ten members. ASEAN was created

in 1967 with five members: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia

and the Philippines. In a region divided by the Cold War and with

warfare threatening Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, there was a need for

an international forum to promote peace and security, as well as

economic growth. Since the governmental types of its members were

both different and antagonistic towards each other, ASEAN has

functioned from the beginning on the principle of non-interference. That

is, no ASEAN government will criticize in public what another ASEAN

government does in its own territory. Of course, private conversation is

quite a different matter, although even so few heads of state in the region

have ever been willing to listen to criticism from anyone else.

In addition to the five original members, Brunei joined in 1984, Vietnam

in 1995, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999.

The ten members have a total population of half a billion people and a

combined GDP of some $700 billion. Although many people in the

region are poor, there are millions of wealthy people, while the island

state of Singapore is one of the most advanced economies of the world.