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During the study of History or Geography, the term ASEAN is commonly used, and almost everyone has heard of it. So, what is ASEAN? What organization does it abbreviate? How many countries are involved, and what are its activities? When did Vietnam join the ASEAN organization?
What is Asean? Who are its members?
What is ASEAN?
ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations or commonly known as the Southeast Asian Nations Association, established on August 8, 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand. Currently, ASEAN consists of 10 member countries, 1 observer, and 1 candidate. Among them, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia are the first participating member countries.
Members of ASEAN
How many members does ASEAN have, and what are the latest additions?
What is ASEAN? Who are the members of ASEAN? The founding countries of ASEAN (on August 8, 1967) include:
- Republic of Indonesia.
- Federation of Malaysia.
- Republic of the Philippines.
- Republic of Singapore.
- Kingdom of Thailand.
Countries that joined ASEAN later include:
- Brunei Darussalam: on January 8, 1984.
- Socialist Republic of Vietnam: on July 28, 1995.
- Lao People's Democratic Republic: on July 23, 1997.
- Union of Myanmar: on July 23, 1997.
- Kingdom of Cambodia: on April 30, 1999.
ASEAN has 2 observers and 1 candidate, including:
- Papua New Guinea: observer of ASEAN.
- East Timor: candidate of ASEAN.
The overarching goal of ASEAN is to transform the Association into 'a harmonious group of Southeast Asian peoples, bound together in a community of interdependent societies'. Additionally, ASEAN was formed to promote enhanced economic, social, cultural, etc., cooperation among the countries in the Southeast Asian region.
The three pillars of the ASEAN Community consist of the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). Each community will undertake specific functions such as:
- ASEAN Political-Security Community: Assumes the role of maintaining and enhancing regional security, ensuring peace, independence, freedom,...
- ASEAN Economic Community: Promotes the process of global economic integration, creating conditions for countries to enjoy freedom in trade, investment,...
- ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC): The goal of the community is to foster unity, build a cohesive society, share, support, harmonize, and enhance the lives of people,...
Not only ASEAN, but organizations formed worldwide are abbreviated to help readers remember easily and save time in usage. Therefore, commonly used abbreviations like WB, IMF, WTO, UN, EU, WHO are widely utilized for people to grasp their names as well as the missions and activities they carry out each year with the aim of bringing warmth and happiness to people worldwide. So, what are WB, IMF, WTO, UN, EU, WHO? Readers wishing to learn more about these organizations can refer to the articles shared on the Mytour website.
In addition, education is currently a field that is always highly valued for the younger generation. Many students strive and make efforts to complete their academic tasks and gradually attain high positions in their careers such as master's degrees, doctorates, bachelor's degrees, etc. These titles, when written on documents or business cards, are often abbreviated as MBA, Ph.D., B.A., B.S., etc. So what do these types of degrees show us?
