ASEAN and the Creation of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was established with the aim of promoting greater cooperation among countries in the Southeast Asian region. This objective seems at best ambiguous. The founders of ASEAN envisioned it as eventually bring
ing together all the countries of Southeast Asia and getting them to cooperate in securing the region's peace, stability and development. At the time the region was in tumult; several countries were struggling for national survival or independence. Five c
ountries - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand - signed the ASEAN Declaration of 8 August 1967.
What is very clear though, is that ASEAN is not a military alliance, in the mold of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). But in recent years, countries of ASEAN have been facing security issues affecting member countries and the association as a
whole. It would be interesting to explore how the ASEAN is moving to address these increasingly sensitive security issues.
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Last updated on 10 May 2001.