Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to promote political and economic cooperation and regional stability. U.S. relations with ASEAN have been excellent since its inception.

The ASEAN chairmanship rotates annually on an alphabetical basis. The current chair is Vietnam.

The ASEAN Declaration in 1976, considered ASEAN's foundation document, formalized the principles of peace and cooperation to which ASEAN is dedicated.

Brunei joined in 1984, shortly after its independence from the United Kingdom, and Vietnam joined ASEAN as its seventh member in 1995. Laos and Burma were admitted into full membership in July 1997 as ASEAN celebrated its 30th anniversary. Cambodia became ASEAN's tenth member in 1999.

The Association commands far greater influence on Asia-Pacific trade, political, and security issues than its members could achieve individually. ASEAN's success has been based largely on its use of consultation, consensus, and cooperation.

ASEAN took the first steps toward an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 1993, when it agreed to eliminate most tariffs on manufactured goods between members over the following decade.

Every year following the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July, ASEAN holds its Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC), where it meets with its ten Dialogue Partners. These are Australia, Canada, China, European Union, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States. The Secretary participated in the July 2000 meeting in Bangkok.

In 1994, ASEAN took the lead in establishing the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which now has 23 members and meets each year at the ministerial level just before the PMC. The ARF is the only region-wide governmental security forum. Its goal is to promote regional stability and peace, and it is now looking at the overlap between confidence building measures, where it has been active, and preventive diplomacy.