The Founding
of ASEAN
On 8 August
1967, fve leaders
- the Foreign
Ministers o
Indonesia,
Malaysia, the
Philiines,!
ingaore and
"hailand - sat
do#n together in
the $ain hall o
the %eart$ent
o Foreign
A&airs'uilding in
(ang)o), "hailand
and signed a
do*u$ent+ (y
virtue o that
do*u$ent,
theAsso*iation o
!outheast Asian
ations A!.A/
#as 'orn+ "he fve
Foreign Ministers
#ho signedit -
Ada$ Mali) o
Indonesia,
ar*iso 0+ 0a$os
o the
Philiines, "un
A'dul 0aa) o
Malaysia, !
+0a2aratna$ o !
ingaore, and
"hanat 3ho$an
o "hailand -
#ould
su'se4uently 'e
hailed as
theFounding
Fathers o
ro'a'ly the $ost
su**essul inter-
govern$ental
organiation in
thedeveloing
#orld today+ And
the do*u$ent that
they signed #ould
'e )no#n as the
A!.A
%e*laration+It
#as a short,
si$ly-#orded
do*u$ent
*ontaining 2ust
fve arti*les+ It
de*lared
theesta'lish$ent
o an Asso*iation
or 0egional
5ooeration
a$ong the
5ountries o !
outheast Asiato 'e
)no#n as the
Asso*iation o !
outheast Asian
ations A!.A/
and selled out
the ai$s
anduroses o
that Asso*iation+
"hese ai$s and
uroses #ere
a'out *ooeration
in the
e*ono$i*,so*ial,
*ultural, te*hni*al,
edu*ational
and other felds,
and in the
ro$otion o
regional
ea*eand sta'ility
through a'iding
rese*t or
2usti*e and the
rule o la# and
adheren*e to
therin*iles o
the nited
ations 5harter+
It stiulated that
the Asso*iation
#ould 'e oen
orarti*iation
'y all !tates in the !
outheast Asian
region su's*ri'ing
to its ai$s,
rin*iles
anduroses+
It ro*lai$ed
A!.A as
reresenting
the *olle*tive #ill
o the nations o
!outheastAsia to
'ind
the$selves togeth
er in riendshi
and *ooeration
and, through
2oint e&orts
andsa*rif*es,
se*ure or their
eoles and
or osterity the
'lessings o
ea*e, reedo$
androserity+
It #as #hile
"hailand #as
'ro)ering
re*on*iliation
a$ong Indonesia,
the Philiines
and Malaysiaover
*ertain disutes
that it da#ned on
the our
*ountries that
the $o$ent or
regional*ooerat
ion had *o$e or
the uture o the
region #ould
re$ain un*ertain+
0e*alls one o
the t#osurviving
rotagonists o
that histori*
ro*ess, "hanat
3ho$an o
"hailand At
the 'an4uet$ar)in
g the
re*on*iliation
'et#een the three
disutants, I
'roa*hed the
idea o or$ing
anotherorganiati
on or regional
*ooeration #ith
Ada$ Mali)+ Mali)
agreed #ithout
hesitation 'ut
as)edor ti$e to
tal) #ith his
govern$ent and
also to nor$alie
relations #ith
Malaysia no# that
the*onrontation
#as over+
Mean#hile, the
"hai Foreign
O*e reared a
drat *harter o
the
ne#institution+ :ith
in a e# $onths,
everything #as
ready+ I
thereore invited
the t#o
or$er$e$'ers
o
the Asso*iation
or !outheast
Asia A!A/,
Malaysia and the
Phili ines,
andIndonesia,
a )ey $e$'er, to a
$eeting in (ang)o)
+ In addition, !
ingaore sent !+
0a2aratna$,then
Foreign Minister,
to see $e a'out
2oining the ne#
set-u+ Although
the ne#
organiation#as
lanned to
*o$rise only the
A!A $e$'ers lus
Indonesia, !
ingaore;s
re4uest
#asavora'ly
*onsidered+An
d so in early
August 1967, the
fve Foreign
Ministers sent
our days in the
relative isolation
o a 'ea*h resort
in (ang !aen, a
*oastal to#n
less than a
hundred )ilo$eter
s southeast
o (ang)o)+ "here
they negotiated
over that
do*u$ent in a
de*idedly
inor$al $anner
#hi*h they#ould
later delight in
des*ri'ing as
sorts-shirt
dilo$a*y+ <et
it #as 'y no $eans
an
easyro*ess
ea*h $an 'rought
into the
deli'erations a
histori*al and
oliti*al
erse*tive that
hadno
rese$'lan*e to
that o any
o  the others+
(ut #ith good#ill
and good hu$or,
as oten as
theyhuddled at
the negotiating
ta'le,
they fnessed
their #ay through
their di&eren*es
as they linedu
their shots on the
gol *ourse
and traded
#ise*ra*)s on one
another;s ga$e, a
style
odeli'eration
#hi*h #ould
eventually
'e*o$e the
A!.A  $inisteria