The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is now a multi-faceted regional organization that comprises ten member states: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma.[1] Founded in 1967, ASEAN has grown in both membership and importance in the Southeast Asia region and internationally. Its primary mandate was to establish greater economic, political, and cultural contacts among its member countries.[2] The five founding members of ASEAN (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines) believed that, like many other international organizations, functional structural integration would facilitate enhanced regional economic prosperity and security cooperation.