Asean was preceded by an organization called the association of southeast Asia, commonly called Asa, an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand that was formed in 1961. Asean was established on 8 August 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, more commonly known as the Bangkok declaration. The five foreign ministers are considered the organization's founding fathers.