ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an intergovernmental organization for regional cooperation. Founded in Bangkok on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, it has 11 members today, including Timor-Leste, which joined in October 2025. Its work spans regional peace and stability, economic cooperation, and social and cultural development.
What does ASEAN stand for?
ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The ASEAN Charter describes it as an intergovernmental organization with legal personality, giving it a formal institutional framework. Unlike a supranational union, ASEAN is organized around cooperation among sovereign member states. ASEAN’s overview and the ASEAN Charter provide the official description.
Which countries are in ASEAN?
ASEAN’s current roster lists 11 Member States:
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Lao PDR
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- the Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Viet Nam
This is the roster published by ASEAN as of October 2026. Older documents may refer to ten members because they predate Timor-Leste’s admission on 26 October 2025; consult ASEAN’s current membership overview for the present count and accession chronology.
What is the purpose of ASEAN?
The 1967 ASEAN Declaration connected regional cooperation with economic growth, social progress and cultural development, alongside peace and stability. It also identified practical cooperation in fields such as education, research, agriculture, industry, trade, transport and communications. The Bangkok Declaration sets out these founding aims.
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The ASEAN Charter gives those aims a broader formal scope. Among its stated purposes are maintaining peace, security and stability; deepening political, security, economic and socio-cultural cooperation; building a more integrated market and production base; narrowing development gaps; supporting sustainable development; developing human resources; and improving people’s welfare. It also calls for ASEAN to maintain a central role in regional cooperation with external partners. These are the organization’s stated purposes, not a guarantee that every goal is uniformly achieved.
Three pillars of the ASEAN Community
ASEAN’s community framework has three pillars. ASEAN says the ASEAN Community was launched in 2015.
- Political-Security Community: regional political and security cooperation.
- Economic Community: economic integration and cooperation.
- Socio-Cultural Community: cooperation on social and cultural matters.
ASEAN’s Community page describes the three-pillar framework.
When was ASEAN founded?
Five countries established ASEAN in Bangkok on 8 August 1967 by signing the ASEAN Declaration: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The signatories were Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore and Thanat Khoman of Thailand. ASEAN’s account describes the founding declaration as a concise five-article agreement establishing an association for regional cooperation. See the Secretariat’s founding history.
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| Year or date | Membership change |
|---|---|
| 8 August 1967 | Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand founded ASEAN. |
| 7 January 1984 | Brunei Darussalam joined. |
| 28 July 1995 | Viet Nam joined. |
| 23 July 1997 | Lao PDR and Myanmar joined. |
| 30 April 1999 | Cambodia joined. |
| 26 October 2025 | Timor-Leste joined, bringing the current roster to 11 members. |
In 2007, ASEAN signed its Charter, which entered into force on 15 December 2008. The Charter formalized the organization’s legal and institutional framework. ASEAN proclaimed the ASEAN Community in 2015. The dates and membership sequence are listed in ASEAN’s overview.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does ASEAN work?
The Charter identifies the ASEAN Summit as the organization’s supreme policy-making body. It is supported by coordinating bodies and three Community Councils corresponding to the political-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars. The ASEAN Secretariat coordinates work among ASEAN bodies and supports effective decision-making. ASEAN’s description of its work explains the Secretariat’s coordinating role.
The Charter’s stated operating principles include sovereignty and equality among member states, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-interference in members’ internal affairs, consultation and consensus, respect for different cultures, and regional cooperation. These principles describe ASEAN’s formal framework; they should not be read as proof that implementation is identical in every matter.
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