In the four decades since its establishment, major structural and organizational
developments have taken place to propel the organization forward, albeit slowly,
to a position of respect and acceptance among members of the regional and
ASEAN's progress, to be sure, was not without challenges. Aside from the
turbulent regional political-security environment of the early decades, ASEAN's
organizational competence was also severely tested by 'non-traditional' security
issues, such as the Asian financial crisis (1997-1998), haze crisis (1997),
terrorism, and pandemic in more recent times. ASEAN's less impressive handling
of the Asian financial crisis, in particular, exposed the organization's lack of
unity, organizational preparedness and competency in dealing with such nontraditional
threat form.