All About ASEAN, from the History Formed and Founder

VIVA – Every August 8 is commemorated as the anniversary of a large organization consisting of Southeast Asian countries called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN. ASEAN is a special economic and geopolitical organization for countries in the Southeast Asian region.

ASEAN was founded in Bangkok on August 8th, 1967. Its formation was attempted by five countries, namely Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. The signing of the Declaration of Bangkok or the Bangkok Declaration became the basis for the establishment of ASEAN.

Initially, the formation of ASEAN was due to some similarities between the founding countries who wanted to create a peaceful, safe, stable and prosperous Southeast Asia region. This arose as a result of the war situation between the United States and Russia that indirectly brought conflict to the impact of security stability on countries in Southeast Asia.

Then, in the 1960s the Southeast Asian region was also faced with a conflict-prone situation, namely the struggle for ideological influence of the big countries and conflicts between countries in the region.

For example, such as the military conflicts that occurred in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. This case can disrupt regional stability and hinder development.

So, because of this, the five founders from each country decided to meet in Bangkok on August 8, 1967 to discuss various problems and solutions to problems that arise in the Southeast Asian region.

Representatives of each country were attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Ministers. Adam Malik represented Indonesia, Malaysia was represented by Tun Abdul Razak, Singapore was represented by Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, the Philippines was represented by Narciso Ramos, and Thailand was represented by Thanat Khoman.

Until now, ASEAN members numbered 10 countries, namely after the five founding countries, Brunei Darussalam joined on January 7, 1984, then Vietnam on July 28, 1995, then Myanmar on July 23, 1997, then Laos on July 23, 1997, and finally is Cambodia which entered on April 30, 1999.

There are several goals of ASEAN that are written in the ASEAN Declaration, such as:

1. Accelerate social progress, economic growth, and cultural development in the Southeast Asia region

2. Improving regional stability and peace that can be realized by respecting justice and obeying the law in relations between countries in Southeast Asia and complying with the principles of the United Nations Charter so as not to cause abuse of authority.

3. Increase active cooperation and mutual assistance between member countries in solving problems related to common interests, both in the economic, scientific, administrative, social, cultural, and technical fields.

4. Fostering and establishing more effective cooperation to increase industrial and agricultural output, expand trade in international commodities, improve communication and transportation facilities and infrastructure, and improve the standard of living of the people of each member country.

5. Improve the quality of knowledge between members.

6. Mutual assistance with training and research facilities for educational, administrative, professional, and technical purposes.

7. Maintain good relations with international organizations that share the same goals and vision, as well as open opportunities for closer relationships.