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Association of Southeast Asian Nations Owing in part to increased oil revenues, the Syrian economy grew in the 1990s Like his father, Bashar demanded the return of the Golan Heights, and Israeli-Syrian negotiations failed to resolve the impasse By 2006 Bashar faced mounting opposition from Israel and the United States for his support of Hizbollah, the Islamist Lebanese movement that continued to confront Israel along its northern border The Assad regime seemed threatened by possible military attack from both Israel and the United States In September 2007 Israelis conducted an airraid on a possible Syrian nuclear cache See also Islamist movements Further reading: Hinnebusch, Raymound A Syria: Revolution from Above London: Routledge, 2001; Seale, Patrick Assad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989 Janice J Terry Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)— with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand as original members—was established on August 8, 1967 As outlined in the Bangkok declaration of ASEAN, it was formed to strive for the peace and prosperity of the region An important regional organization, ASEAN, whose member countries have a population of more than 500 million, strove for regional cooperation to benefit its member countries It encompassed the rest of the countries of Southeast Asia over time with the admission of Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos and Myanmar (1997), and Cambodia (1999) The Meeting of the ASEAN Heads of State and Government is the top decision-making body of the ASEAN Every year, ASEAN Summit and ASEAN Ministerial meetings are held The term of the secretary-general is five years, and he advises on and implements various ASEAN programs The cooperation of member countries is through specialized bodies pertaining to education, energy, police, meteorology, and other areas Against the changing backdrop of the geopolitical situation, the ASEAN countries saw the necessity of regional cooperation on matters of common interest The ASEAN was established during the Vietnam War, and the member countries were bound together by fear of North Vietnam and China The victory of communists in Indochina in the early 1970s and diminishing 41 American involvement made the ASEAN states fearful of communism The Kuala Lumpur declaration of November 22, 1971, called for the creation of a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) in Southeast Asia aimed at neutralization of the region The triumph of communism in the three Indochinese states of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam in 1975 spurred the ASEAN into action Fearful of a militant and expanding communism, the ASEAN countries signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation at the First ASEAN Summit held at Bali, Indonesia, on February 24, 1976 It called for renunciation of the use of force, cooperation among the nations in Southeast Asia, and noninterference in one another’s internal affairs After the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, ASEAN moved in a new direction to meet with the challenges of globalization The three Indochinese states became members From the early 1990s ASEAN looked for increasing economic cooperation among member countries At the Fourth ASEAN Summit held in Singapore in January 1992 an agreement was signed for the creation of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) within 15 years The 1995 Bangkok Summit passed a resolution on the Agenda for Greater Economic Integration The time frame of AFTA was reduced to 10 years The ASEAN Vision 2020, adopted in 1997, envisaged an ASEAN Economic Region There would be closer economic integration along with reduction of poverty and removal of economic disparities The Framework Agreement for the Integration of Priority Sectors and its Protocols of 1999 called for the creation of a single market and production base In 1994 the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was established with non-ASEAN countries like the United States, Russia, China, India, and others to discuss security issues and take steps in confidence building There was an agenda for an enhanced role of the ARF in matters of security dialogue and cooperation Meetings on this topic were held in the Cambodian capital and in Potsdam, Germany, in 2004 and 2005 respectively The December 2005 ASEAN Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur, noted with satisfaction progress toward a Free Trade Area, with such countries as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, India, and the Republic of Korea ASEAN cooperates with the East Asian nations of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, which were accorded the special status of ASEAN Plus Three They expected to have a free-trade agreement by the year 2010 India enjoys a special standing with ASEAN An ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace and Progress was signed at the Third ASEAN-India Summit in November 2004
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