Asian Geographic - 08.2018

Jul 31, 1961

ASA is founded

Sep 16, 1963

The Federation of

Malaysia is formed

Aug 9, 1965

Singapore gains

independence

Aug 11, 1966

Konfrontasi ends

Aug 8, 1967

ASEAN is formed

ASeAn’S regionAl riSe

In this casual environment, ministers lobbied

privately for national causes, and a general

consensus was reached even before formal

discussions began.

“Each man brought into the deliberations

a historical and political perspective that had

no resemblance to that of any of the others,”

Khoman writes in his memoirs. “But with

goodwill and good humour, as often as they

huddled at the negotiating table, they finessed

their way through their differences as they

lined up their shots on the golf course and

traded wisecracks on one another’s game, a

style of deliberation which would eventually

become the ASEAN ministerial tradition.”

The result of this “Sport-Shirt Diplomacy”

was the Bangkok Declaration of August 8,

1967, a simple document solidifying ASEAN’s

purpose: to promote regional cooperation

and peace. Membership was open to any

state within Southeast Asia, and subsequent

years saw the inclusion of Brunei, Vietnam,

Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. Today, the

bloc’s ability to maintain regional peace

despite ongoing territorial disputes between

members is a success story among regional

organisations, and continues to attract new

hopefuls, with East Timor and Papua New

Guinea next in line.

“I saw for myself at the UN how, over

time, the five ASEAN foreign ministers

became really close friends and trusted one

another,” says Tommy Koh, Singapore’s former

Permanent Representative to the United

Nations. “When ASEAN began, the five

leaders of the countries realised that they must

come to know each other. They must develop

friendship, mutual trust, and a willingness

to understand each other’s point of view and

interest... so the ASEAN journey succeeded

partly because these remarkable people, who

hardly knew each other at the beginning,

became friends, became allies, and became

partners devoted to their vision.”

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