ASIAN ( Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

ASIAN
( Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia,which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other countries in Asia. It also regularly engages other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. A major partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, ASEAN maintains a global network of alliances and dialogue partners and is considered by many as a global powerhouse.

Formed in 1967, ASEAN united Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to try to reduce regional hostilities and to fight the potential threat of communist-led insurgencies at the height of the U.S. war in Vietnam. The five founding members sought a community to promote political and social stability amid rising tensions among the Asia-Pacific’s post-colonial states. In 1976, the members signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, emphasizing ASEAN’s promotion of peace, friendship, and cooperation to build solidarity.

The central union for cooperation in Asia-Pacific, and a prominent and influential organization. It is involved in numerous international affairs, and hosts diplomatic missions throughout the world.

Ten countries are:-

 1 - Malaysia      Kuala Lumpur              8 August, 1967
2 -  Indonesia    Jakarta                         8 August, 1967
3 - Singapore    Singapore                     8 August, 1967
4 - Philippines   Manila                           8 August, 1967
5 - Thailand       Bangkok                       8 August, 1967
6 - Brunei          Bandar Seri Begawan  7 January, 1984
7 - Vietnam       Hanoi                            28 July, 1995
8 - Laos            Vientiane                       23 July, 1997
9 - Myanmar     Naypyidaw                    23 July, 1997
10 - Cambodia  Phnom Penh                30 April,1999

Fundamental Principles

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia, signed at the First ASEAN Summit on 24 February 1976, declared that in their relations with one another, the High Contracting Parties should be guided by the following fundamental principles:

Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations;
The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion, or coercion;
Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;
Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner;
Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and

Effective cooperation among themselves..

Political Cooperation

The TAC stated that ASEAN political and security dialogue and cooperation should aim to promote regional peace and stability by enhancing regional resilience. Regional resilience shall be achieved by cooperating in all fields based on the principles of self-confidence, self-reliance, mutual respect, cooperation, and solidarity, which shall constitute the foundation for a strong and viable community of nations in Southeast Asia.

Some of the major political accords of ASEAN are as follows:

ASEAN Declaration, Bangkok, 8 August 1967
Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality Declaration, Kuala Lumpur, 27 November 1971
Declaration of ASEAN Concord, Bali, 24 February 1976
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, Bali, 24 February 1976
ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea, Manila, 22 July 1992
Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, Bangkok, 15 December 1997
ASEAN Vision 2020, Kuala Lumpur, 15 December 1997
Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism, 5 November 2001
Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, Bali, 7 October 2003
ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism (ACCT), 11 January 2007
Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015, 11 January 2007
ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism, 5 November 2001; and
Joint Declaration of the ASEAN Defence Ministers on Promoting Defence Cooperation for a Dynamic ASEAN Community, 25 May 2016.

Although ASEAN States cooperate mainly on economic and social issues, the organization has a security function, with a long-discussed program for confidence-building measures and for establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Southeast Asia, with the objective of implementing ASEAN’s 1971 Declaration on a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN), and a Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), which would be a component of ZOPFAN.

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