“One Vision, One Identity, One Community”

At the time of Japan’s surrender in August 1945, Southeast Asia was in a state of destruction and chaos.  Japan had occupied Southeast Asia for much of the duration of World War II, but the economic and political instability the region now faced had its roots further back: European colonialism.  For a few hundred years, the British ruled Burma and Malaya, the Dutch controlled Indonesia, the French governed Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and the Spanish and later the United States supervised the Philippines.  The ruined economies from colonialism and utter destruction from the Japanese left Southeast Asia weak and susceptible to more terror in the Cold War.  In this unstable climate, ASEAN was formed.

“On 8 August 1967, five leaders – the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – sat down together in the main hall of the Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok, Thailand and signed a document” (“The Founding of ASEAN”).  This document contained the basis for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, also known as ASEAN.  ASEAN was formed by nations who had very differing cultures and histories, many of whom had been carved out purely by result of the foreign colonizers and did not have any similarity in culture or politics within their own country, let alone the region at large.  However, they found themselves in the same geographical area and formed ASEAN to build economic, political, and social stability.  According to the Thai representative at the signing of the treaty, “‘The goal of ASEAN, then, is to create, not to destroy’” (“The Founding of ASEAN”).  All of the countries struggled with outside pressures, and desired to help one another materially. They sought to steer clear from the help of any larger world power like the United States, Russia, or China, who were all caught up in the Cold War, whose effects were seen in Vietnam and its neighbors.  All of the members of Southeast Asia had their conflicts with one another, but through ASEAN they became stronger and kept one another accountable.

In 1976, the year South Vietnam surrendered and the Communist Khmer Rouge arose in Cambodia, ASEAN signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which opened ASEAN to other countries in Southeast Asia, created a high council to settle disputes, and cooperated on national resilience. “ASEAN became a leading voice on trade and security” (“ASEAN Explained” 5:09).  Soon, the five original founding countries were joined by Brunei and, after the Cold War’s end, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  The ten countries signed a free trade agreement in 1992 and the ASEAN Charter in 2007 to create a single market (6:35).  ASEAN also established free trade agreements later on with China, Korea, Japan, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

Today, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations exists as a political security community, an economic foundation, and a place to promote the rich culture and history of these nations.  Together, the more than 625 million people of Southeast Asia are united under the banner “One Vision, One Identity, One Community.”

Works Cited:

Flores, Jamil Maiden and Jun Abad (1997, August 8). The Founding of ASEAN. Asean.org. https://asean.org/the-founding-of-asean/the-founding-of-asean. Accessed 17 March 2024.

asean secretariat. (2015, August 31). ASEAN Journey – 1967 – 2015 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FumQuo6ETBg.

TLDR News Global. (2022, January 5). ASEAN Explained: Asia’s Version of the European Union? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ0bgB9bHPQ.

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https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/331146