Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
In order to advance political and economic cooperation as well as regional stability, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. Soon after gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984, Brunei joined, and Vietnam became ASEAN's seventh member in 1995. As ASEAN commemorated its 30th anniversary in July 1997, Laos and Burma were granted full membership. In 1999, Cambodia joined ASEAN as its tenth member.
The values of peace and cooperation to which ASEAN is committed were defined in the 1967 ASEAN Declaration, which is regarded as the organization's foundation text. The ASEAN Charter becomes effective on December 15, 2008. With the ASEAN Charter's entry into effect, ASEAN formalized its status as an international organization and made significant progress toward fostering a sense of community.
The Political-Security Community, Economic Community, and Socio-Cultural Community are the three pillars that make up the ASEAN Community. The Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Strategic Framework and IAI Work Plan Phase II (2009-2015), as well as each pillar's individual Blueprint that was accepted at the summit level, collectively make up the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community from 2009 to 2015.
Read Also: ASEAN | Definition, History & Facts
Compared to what its members might accomplish individually, ASEAN has a much bigger impact on trade, politics, and security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. This has motivated ASEAN's attempts to foster community. This project heavily relies on teamwork, consensus-building, and consultation.
Since ASEAN's founding, relations between the US and ASEAN have been excellent. In 1977, the US joined the ASEAN as a dialogue partner nation. Regular meetings between dialogue partners and ASEAN at the working and senior levels help to shape how our regional relations grow. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), which Secretary Clinton signed in July 2009, has significantly improved U.S. political ties with ASEAN.
Every year, ASEAN has its Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC), to which the Secretary of State is invited, immediately following the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which presently comprises 27 members and convenes annually at the ministerial level immediately following the PMC, was founded by ASEAN in 1994.
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