Information AboutAsean |
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations ('''ASEAN''') is a Political , Economic , and Cultural organization of countries located in Southeast Asia . ASEAN was formed on August 8 , 1967 by Thailand , Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore , and the Philippines , as a non-provocative display of solidarity against communist expansion in Vietnam and insurgency within their own borders. Following the Bali Summit of 1976, the organization embarked on a programme of economic cooperation, which floundered in the mid-1980's only to be revived around a 1991 Thai proposal for a Regional "free trade area". The countries meet annually. MEMBERS See Also: List of members of the ASEAN The ASEAN was founded by five states, mostly from , Singapore and Thailand. The British protectorate of Brunei joined the ASEAN when six days after the country became independent from the United Kingdom on January 7 , 1984 . The Mainland states of Vietnam , Laos and Myanmar were later admitted. Vietnam joined the ASEAN on July 28 , 1995 . Laos and Myanmar were admitted into the ASEAN on July 23 , 1997 . Cambodia is currently the newest member when it was admitted on April 30 , 1999 . The Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea has observer status in the ASEAN. Meanwhile, the former Indonesian province of Timor-Leste has applied for observer status in ASEAN. Timor Leste is widely seen as a member state candidate. {Link without Title} The association includes about 8% of the world's population and in 2003 it had a combined GDP of about US$700 billion, growing at an average rate of around 4% per annum. The economies of member countries of ASEAN are diverse, although its major products include Electronics , Oil , and Wood . The ASEAN countries are culturally rich. It includes more Muslims than any other Geopolitical entity. About 240 million Muslims live mostly in Indonesia , Malaysia and Brunei . Buddhism constitutes the main religion of mainland Southeast Asia and there are about 170 million Buddhists in Thailand , Myanmar , Laos , Cambodia , Vietnam and Singapore . Catholicism is predominant in the Philippines . ASEAN has governments with widely differing views on governance and political process, including practices in areas such as suffrage and representation. It encompasses styles of government ranging from democracy to autocracy. HISTORY ASEAN was originally formed out of an organization called the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), an alliance consisting of the Philippines , Malaysia , and Thailand that formed in 1961. As such, ASA is considered the predecessor to ASEAN. ASEAN itself was established on August 8 , 1967 , when foreign ministers of five countries— Indonesia , Malaysia , the Philippines , Singapore , and Thailand met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok and signed the ''ASEAN Declaration'' (also known as the ''Bangkok Declaration''). The five foreign ministers, considered the organization's Founding Fathers, were Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand. The founding fathers envisaged that the organization would eventually encompass all countries in Southeast Asia. Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member of the ASEAN when it joined on January 7 , 1984 , barely a week after the country became independent on January 1 . It would be a further 11 years before ASEAN expanded from its core six members. Vietnam became the seventh member in July 28 , 1995 , and Laos and Myanmar joined two years later in July 23 , 1997 . Vietnam would become the first Communist member of ASEAN. Cambodia was to have joined the ASEAN together with Laos and Myanmar, but was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle. Cambodia later joined on April 30 , 1999 , following the stabilization of its government. Thus was completed the ASEAN-10—the organization of all countries in Southeast Asia. THE ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM | ||
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