History of the ASEAN Formation
Yanda Swares Gita
016 201 200 111
IR<deff>2012
Class 1 Semester 5
I. Introduction
ASEAN’s HISTORY
In August 1967, when ASEAN was founded, Southeast Asia was at the center of world events. Indonesia had recently been at war with Malaysia, trying to prevent the creation of Malaysia out of former British colonies. The Second Indochina War was raging, following the withdrawal of France in 1954 and the end of the First Indochina War that year. In Malaysia, a powerful communist insurgency had only recently been defeated, while in Indonesia an army coup, launched in part to head off the rise of left-leaning political parties, had unleashed massive communal bloodshed. The Cultural Revolution and China’s support for several communist movements in Southeast Asia, as well as the region’s fears of the United States abandoning its commitment to Southeast Asia, led the noncommunist countries in the region to form ASEAN. The original five members Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, varied from military dictatorships to city states to nascent democracies. ASEAN was founded with a limited charter, even compared to many other regional organizations. The goal was to preserve long-term peace in Southeast Asia and, by unifying, to balance the roles that outside powers, including the United States, China, and Japan, played in Southeast Asia. Even though the Second Indochina War ended in 1975, the region remained mired in Indochina politics until the late 1980s, and ASEAN’s mission evolved only marginally from its original goal. ASEAN also made little effort to push for greater regional integration or trade liberalization. Despite China’s economic opening in the late 1970s, China did not have formal relations with many Southeast Asian states and was a minor trading partner for the majority of the countries in the region by the late 1980s.
Most ASEAN states (with the exception of small, oil-rich Brunei, which was added as a member after the original five)
016 201 200 111
IR<deff>2012
Class 1 Semester 5
I. Introduction
ASEAN’s HISTORY
In August 1967, when ASEAN was founded, Southeast Asia was at the center of world events. Indonesia had recently been at war with Malaysia, trying to prevent the creation of Malaysia out of former British colonies. The Second Indochina War was raging, following the withdrawal of France in 1954 and the end of the First Indochina War that year. In Malaysia, a powerful communist insurgency had only recently been defeated, while in Indonesia an army coup, launched in part to head off the rise of left-leaning political parties, had unleashed massive communal bloodshed. The Cultural Revolution and China’s support for several communist movements in Southeast Asia, as well as the region’s fears of the United States abandoning its commitment to Southeast Asia, led the noncommunist countries in the region to form ASEAN. The original five members Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, varied from military dictatorships to city states to nascent democracies. ASEAN was founded with a limited charter, even compared to many other regional organizations. The goal was to preserve long-term peace in Southeast Asia and, by unifying, to balance the roles that outside powers, including the United States, China, and Japan, played in Southeast Asia. Even though the Second Indochina War ended in 1975, the region remained mired in Indochina politics until the late 1980s, and ASEAN’s mission evolved only marginally from its original goal. ASEAN also made little effort to push for greater regional integration or trade liberalization. Despite China’s economic opening in the late 1970s, China did not have formal relations with many Southeast Asian states and was a minor trading partner for the majority of the countries in the region by the late 1980s.
Most ASEAN states (with the exception of small, oil-rich Brunei, which was added as a member after the original five)