BEATING THE ODDS

An organisation made up of 10 different countries of very different governments , cultures , and economic status , the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) was born on August 8 , 1967 and straight off the bat , many were critical and thought that it would fail . But against all the odds , ASEAN fought through and has now emerged as one of the principal reasons for Southeast Asia ’ s success . But with that , you ’ re left to wonder , what was the secret and how did ASEAN beat the odds and emerge victorious ?

KNOWN IN FULL as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , ASEAN is an international organisation that was established by the governments of Indonesia , Malaysia , the Philippines , Singapore , and Thailand , in 1967 with the intention of accelerating economic growth , social progress , and cultural development , as well as promote peace and security in Southeast Asia ( SEA ). It ’ s now made up of 10 countries : Brunei joined the organisation in 1984 , followed by Vietnam in 1995 , Laos and Myanmar in 1997 , and Cambodia in 1999 .

ASEAN also functions as a nonpolitical platform that maintains peace and stability amongst member states and external partners . First constituted on July 31 , 1961 with Malaya , Thailand and the Philippines as members , ASEAN was originally known as the

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August 8 , 1967 The first five leaders of ASEAN

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MYANMAR Page 14 THAILAND Page 46 PHILIPPINES Page 62 MALAYSIA & SINGAPORE Page 78 INDONESIA Page 96 CAMBODIA Page 112 VIETNAM Page 128

Association of Southeast Asia ( ASA ), but fell short of becoming a viable regional grouping . The failure was due to numerous factors , including ASA ’ s inability to obtain endorsements from other Southeast Asian countries , most crucially Indonesia , and the breakdown of bilateral relations between two of its members – Malaya and the Philippines – over the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 .

However , thanks to an improvement later in the multilateral ties marked by the end of Indonesia ’ s Confrontation policy in August 1966 against Malaysia , and the normalisation of relations between Malaysia and the Philippines , ASA was able to begin discussions