The ASEAN was founded in 1967 for strategic and security reasons as a result of the ending of confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia in 1966, and was made possible by a maturing of ideas about regional co-operation in Southeast Asia. It was also a reaction to the Vietnam War's uncertain outcome, and the need for the non-communist countries of Southeast Asia to get together in facing a possible withdrawal of the United States from the region. It is clearly seen that the establishment of this Association was due to political-security reasons. Aside from these reasons, however, the Bangkok Declaration of 1967 cites the promotion of economic, social, and cultural co-operation as reasons for the establishment of ASEAN. The Association was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signature of the Bangkok declaration by the five original member nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand). In 1984, Brunei Darussalam was admitted as the sixth member. In 1995, Vietnam also joined ASEAN. Lao People's Democratic Republic and Burma/Myanmar became members in 1997. Cambodia joined in 1999. .
It was nine years later, in a Summit in Bali did the first concrete programs for economic co-operation come about, and they were further strengthened in 1977 at a Summit in Kuala Lumpur. In the first nine years, ASEAN's efforts were mainly to get to know each other and to learn how to co-operate with each other. It was also a time to develop a consensus on strategic views about the region, because there were real differences among the members. Among the member countries, only Indonesia was genuinely non-aligned with a foreign power.
ASEAN vs. EU (EC).
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the most successful regional grouping in the developing world. The EU, on the other hand is considered the most successful regional grouping in the developed world and is different from ASEAN on matters of enlarged membership and economic integration.
