The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, was established in
August 1967. It is arguably the most durable and successful regional association in
the developing world. In a region that had been plagued by conflict and divided by a
diverse colonial past, ASEAN has first and foremost forged diplomatic cohesion
among its population of almost 600 million people. Formed initially by leaders of five
member countries,1
the 1967 Bangkok Declaration was broad and general in its
seven objectives. These included, among others