Brief History of ASEAN
Contributing to this article: Alexander, Angelo Wijaya, M. Zaki N. Hawazi, Lukas A. S. Singarimbun, and Khalil Makarim.
The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. The founding of ASEAN was initiated by the five original members, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Throughout the years, the membership of ASEAN has grown from five countries to ten — to include five additional members; Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos (1997), Myanmar (1997), and Cambodia (1999).
ASEAN’s founding is catalyzed by the event of Cold War. The five original members aspired not to take sides during the war, as the world was virtually divided into two sides — the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc. In addition to that, ASEAN’s goals are to foster economic growth and maintaining peace, stability, and security in the Southeast Asian region, as recorded in its official founding document.
Back in the days of its founding, Southeast Asia was dubbed as the Balkans of Asia, as the region was ravaged by cross-border open conflicts and wars. However, after ASEAN was founded, the region’s outlook has transformed to become more stable than ever. The former dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Kishore Mahbubani (2017), wrote that this transformation in the region is caused by the “ASEAN Miracle”, which is, the establishment of peace within the region, through cooperation in many spheres, including political-security, economic, and socio-cultural fields.
These spheres of ASEAN cooperation were transformed into the pillars of ASEAN Community, which then established the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community by the end of 2015. These three pillars are the most pivotal and deemed necessary for the progress of ASEAN and its people.
Since its inception in 1967, ASEAN has grown steadfastly. The aforementioned cooperation was facilitated by trust among its members — and most of the time is also attributable to the “non-interference” principle in contrast to the principles and practices of a supra-national entity like the European Union.
In 1971, ASEAN agreed on to establish a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality (ZOPFAN). In 1976, ASEAN agreed on the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). In 1992, ASEAN agreed on the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) as well as the ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea. In 1997, ASEAN agreed on the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ). And in 2007, ASEAN finally agreed on its charter, the ASEAN Charter. All of the agreements were done by upholding the principle of consensus — the agreement by all members to not leave anyone behind in terms of decision making.
ASEAN also continues to foster cooperation with partners bilaterally and multilaterally. Bilaterally, ASEAN established dialogue partnership with ten countries — Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, the United States, and the European Union. Multilateraly, ASEAN has served as the foundation of the ASEAN-led mechanism in the region such as the ASEAN+3, East Asian Summit, and ASEAN Regional Forum schemes.
ASEAN has come a long way to be where it is today. Its member states have committed into creating an integrated community that is people-oriented and people-centered, through the materialization of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. As the youth population ASEAN would reach its peak by 2040, it is time for ASEAN youth to shift its focus to and to commit themselves in ASEAN — for within the next twenty years, the same people today will be on the driver’s seat of ASEAN.
