Why was ASEAN established?

The Association of South Eastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established by five countries of South East Asia - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It came to existence in 1967 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. ASEAN was established because of the lack of representation that the developing and underdeveloped countries had in the forums and conferences of the developed nations. The economic, social and political consequences of colonialism and imperialism were most experienced by the regions in Asia. At the end of the war, it confronted problems of nation-building, the ravages of poverty and economic backwardness and the pressure to align with one great power or another during the Cold War. The objectives of ASEAN were primarily to accelerate economic growth and through that ‘social progress and cultural development’. A secondary objective was to promote regional peace and stability based on the rule of law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.