The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The purpose of ASEAN is to help promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.
The ASEAN Member states have adopted the following fundamental principles:
1. Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity,and national identity of all nations

2. The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion

3. Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another

4. Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner

5. Renunciation of the threat or use of force
6. Effective cooperation among themselves.
The ASEAN Community is comprised of three pillars, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
The creation of ASEAN was the result of efforts by some Southeast Asian states to create
an association that could provide the framework for successful management of disputes
among them. The creation of ASEAN can be seen as determined by the desire of its
original member-states; i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and
Thailand, to handle existing and potential inter-state disputes through peaceful measures
and minimise the risk of militarised conflicts.
At the time of ASEAN’s conception, Southeast Asia was beset by instability aggravated by underdevelopment. The ASEAN pioneer states themselves were just beginning to learn to trust one another, while nursing the hangover of bitter disputes of recent years. The newborn ASEAN was, therefore, presented as a subregional grouping for economic, social and cultural cooperation. However, security concerns and political purposes were never far from the ASEAN founders’ intentions.
As a key figure in ASEAN diplomacy, former Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas has pointed out, “The truth is that politics attended ASEAN at its birth. It was the convergence in political outlook among the five original members, their shared convictions on national priority objectives and on how best to secure these objectives in the evolving strategic environment of East Asia which impelled them to form ASEAN.”
ASEAN’s leaders have reaffirmed that co-operative peace and shared prosperity should be the association’s basic goals. Towards these goals ASEAN shall remain a driving force in building a more predictable and constructive pattern of relationships among nations in the Asia-Pacific region.