The+Association+of+Southeast+Asian+Nations+(ASEAN)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established with the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) in Bangkok, Thailand on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to promote mutual prosperity. ASEAN was later joined by Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Of the ten member states, the most powerful are Singapore and Indonesia.

ASEAN's goals are to promote economic growth, social progress, cultural development, regional peace and stability, the rule of law, active collaboration and mutual assistance in specific areas of interest, Southeast Asian studies, and beneficial cooperation among the states of Southeast Asia. It seeks to do this in a spirit of partnership and equality so as to create a peaceful, prosperous region. It endeavors to improve transportation and communications facilities as well as the standard of living of its people.

ASEAN consists of several major divisions: the //ASEAN Coordinating Council//, the //ASEAN Community Councils//, the //ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies//, the //Committee of Permanent Representatives//, //National Secretariats//, and //Committees Abroad//. At the top of the hierarchy is the ASEAN Chair, a single individual from one of the member states; the Chair rotates annually and is from a different country each year. The ASEAN Secretariat is another executive entity of ASEAN which facilitates coordination and efficiency among the divisions of ASEAN.

Member states of ASEAN have the advantage of benign cooperation among each other. They work together for their mutual benefits to improve their economies. They are political allies. Together, the members of ASEAN form a regional force which counters the tremendous power of China, India, and Japan. This allows them to remain secure from the threat of domination by any of these states.

By virtue of being members of ASEAN, the member states lose much of their autonomy. Also, ASEAN is not extraordinarily effective, so member states do not always experience dramatic benefits.

ASEAN promotes local diversity through the mutual cooperation of its member states. They each remain independent states, but they help each other to improve individually. Because of this, ASEAN is beneficial to the local diversity of Southeast Asian states.

Here is a map of ASEAN and its members:

Here is a link to an article about ASEAN: []

Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "About ASEAN - Overview ." [] Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "ASEAN Structure." []