From the Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) with Dialogue Partners to the ARF, With dissolution of the Soviet Union and the demise of the cold war in the early 1990s, the US became the sole super power by default. However, regional security in the Asia-Pacific became uncertain. ASEAN which had actually been conducting meetings with its dialogue partners, namely, selected Asia-Pacific states and EU, in what is called the Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) after its ASEAN Ministerial Meeting since the 1970s; moreover, ASEAN was also not considered to be a threat to anyone unlike the major powers. In indeed, it was at the suggestion of the ASEAN foreign ministers and its seven dialogue partners, namely, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and the EU that ARF was born in 1994. In addition, at a time when the US was having problems at home and the worry that there could be diminished American interest In the Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific, the thinking was that it was equally important to engage the US. Specifically, ASEAN tried to consolidate its diplomatic gain after the conclusion of the Paris agreements on Cambodia in 1991. It would like to continue to develop its stabilizing role in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in Southeast Asia through the formation of the ARF Finally, ASEAN would like to play a role in the structuring of the Asia-Pacific security architecture in the post-cold war era; it did not want the process to be dominated by major players.