Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

ASEAN logo

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)— with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand as original members—was established on August 8, 1967. As outlined in the Bangkok declaration of ASEAN, it was formed to strive for the peace and prosperity of the region.

An important regional organization, ASEAN, whose member countries have a population of more than 500 million, strove for regional cooperation to benefit its member countries. It encompassed the rest of the countries of Southeast Asia over time with the admission of Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos and Myanmar (1997), and Cambodia (1999). The Meeting of the ASEAN Heads of State and Government is the top decision-making body of the ASEAN.

Every year, ASEAN Summit and ASEAN Ministerial meetings are held. The term of the secretary-general is five years, and he advises on and implements various ASEAN programs. The cooperation of member countries is through specialized bodies pertaining to education, energy, police, meteorology, and other areas.

Against the changing backdrop of the geopolitical situation, the ASEAN countries saw the necessity of regional cooperation on matters of common interest. The ASEAN was established during the Vietnam War, and the member countries were bound together by fear of North Vietnam and China.


The victory of communists in Indochina in the early 1970s and diminishing American involvement made the ASEAN states fearful of communism. The Kuala Lumpur declaration of November 22, 1971, called for the creation of a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) in Southeast Asia aimed at neutralization of the region.

The triumph of communism in the three Indochinese states of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam in 1975 spurred the ASEAN into action. Fearful of a militant and expanding communism, the ASEAN countries signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation at the First ASEAN Summit held at Bali, Indonesia, on February 24, 1976.

It called for renunciation of the use of force, cooperation among the nations in Southeast Asia, and noninterference in one another’s internal affairs. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, ASEAN moved in a new direction to meet with the challenges of globalization. The three Indochinese states became members.

ASEAN map

From the early 1990s ASEAN looked for increasing economic cooperation among member countries. At the Fourth ASEAN Summit held in Singapore in January 1992 an agreement was signed for the creation of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) within 15 years. The 1995 Bangkok Summit passed a resolution on the Agenda for Greater Economic Integration.

The time frame of AFTA was reduced to 10 years. The ASEAN Vision 2020, adopted in 1997, envisaged an ASEAN Economic Region. There would be closer economic integration along with reduction of poverty and removal of economic disparities. The Framework Agreement for the Integration of Priority Sectors and its Protocols of 1999 called for the creation of a single market and production base.

In 1994 the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was established with non-ASEAN countries like the United States, Russia, China, India, and others to discuss security issues and take steps in confidence building. There was an agenda for an enhanced role of the ARF in matters of security dialogue and cooperation.


Meetings on this topic were held in the Cambodian capital and in Potsdam, Germany, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. The December 2005 ASEAN Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur, noted with satisfaction progress toward a Free Trade Area, with such countries as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, India, and the Republic of Korea.

ASEAN cooperates with the East Asian nations of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, which were accorded the special status of ASEAN Plus Three. They expected to have a free-trade agreement by the year 2010. India enjoys a special standing with ASEAN. An ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace and Progress was signed at the Third ASEAN-India Summit in November 2004.

The ASEAN and its member countries have taken steps, through treaties, conventions, and communiqués, to prevent different types of organized crime with regional and international dimensions, such as terrorism, terrorist financing, money laundering, human trafficking, and drug smuggling.

On February 24, 1976, the ASEAN countries declared that they would cooperate with one another and with international organizations to check illegal trafficking of drugs. The ASEAN Vision 2020 resolved to tackle the problems of drug trafficking, trafficking of women, and other transnational crimes.

Through organizations like the ARF, Ministerial Meetings, the ASEAN Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL), the ASEAN Centre for Combating Transnational Crime (ACTC), the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC), and the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC), steps were taken to prevent various forms of crimes affecting Southeast Asia in particular and the world in general. The Vientiane Action Program of November 2004 contained measures to tackle the problem of terrorism.

Singapore

Singapore

Singapore became in independent country on August 9, 1965. This island nation at the southern tip of western Malaysia has since become a regional powerhouse. Singapore’s 4 million citizens, by marked contrast with many other countries of Southeast Asia, enjoy a high standard of living second only to Japan’s in Asia.

Singapore has ancient beginnings. It was part of the Sultanate of Johore until 1819, when Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, representing Great Britain, made a treaty with the sultan and established the island as a British trading settlement. The name Singapore comes from the word Singapura, meaning "Lion City".

As a Crown Colony of the British Empire, it became an impregnable fortress. In 1941 Japan entered World War II, simultaneously attacking Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and Malaysia. By early 1942 the Japanese army was progressing rapidly down the peninsula.

The city was shelled and bombed, and several thousand troops and civilians were killed in the fighting. The garrison on Singapore surrendered on February 15, 1942. Thousands of Allied troops were marched into captivity.


The Japanese found themselves in possession of a valuable stronghold and significant quantities of Allied weapons and ammunition. Japan established an infamous prisoner of war camp at Changi, where Allied prisoners languished under inhumane conditions.

After World War II Singapore resumed its busy trading focus, and in 1959 it became a self-governing Crown Colony with Lee Kuan Yew, a British-educated barrister, as its first prime minister.

On September 2, 1962, a referendum was held on whether to form a union with Malaya. Seventy-three percent of the electorate voted in favor. On September 16, 1963, Singapore became part of the new nation of Malaysia, a self-governing dominion of the British Commonwealth.

Statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
in Singapore

Four areas were combined to make up Malaysia: the Federated Malay States, Singapore, British North Borneo, and Sarawak. Indonesia and the Philippines opposed the union, and Indonesia supported rebels in Malaysia after its formation.

In 1965 Singapore left the Malaysia Federation to become a sovereign country. The island section of Malaysia was expelled over the status of ethnic Malay and Chinese in the population.

Singapore, as a separate nation, was a success. On September 21, 1965, it became the 117th member of the United Nations. President Lee Kuan Yew is regarded as the father of modern Singapore.

As leader and founder of the People’s Action Party (PAP), he campaigned energetically to form a multiracial government along nonracial lines. He maintained law and order and emphasized hard work. The government is famous for efficiency, and its people for being hard-working and forward looking.

In August 1967 Singapore joined Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand to form ASEAN—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The association pursued aims of accelerating economic growth, social progress, and cultural development, and the promotion of peace and stability in the region. In 1971 Britain ended its military association with Singapore with the closure of the British Far East Command.

Lee retired in 1990 as Singapore’s reputation for efficiency and hard work grew. Today, the nation-state is crowded—population density in 2003 was just over 6,000 people per square kilometer. Life expectancy is 77 years for males and 81 for females. Singapore has become the success story of Southeast Asia.