Today, everyone knows ASEAN because the essential group that unites the nations of Southeast Asia. It helps member countries cooperate in business, politics and culture.
But did you understand that long before ASEAN was formed, regional leaders tried to construct other alliances. Two essential groups paved the best way for regional cooperation, ASA and Maphilindo. Although each groups ultimately failed, they provided the essential blueprint that made ASEAN possible.
First stage of the SEA Federation: ASA
There was tension in Southeast Asia within the late Nineteen Fifties and early Nineteen Sixties. The Cold War divided the world and communism spread across Asia. Leaders within the region realized they needed to unite to guard their economies and maintain peace.
This fear led to the creation of the ASA, which stood for the Southeast Asian Association. This small group, formed on July 31, 1961 in Bangkok, Thailand, consisted of only three members:
- Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
- Philippines
- Thailand
ASA focused mainly on economic and cultural cooperation. The founders believed that in the event that they improved trade and shared knowledge, their nations would develop into stronger and more stable.
Unfortunately, ASA didn’t last long. In 1963, a serious political dispute broke out between Malaya and the Philippines over the ownership of the territory of Sabah. This struggle forced the ASA to stop its activities before it could achieve its great goals.
From ASA to Maphilindo
Shortly after the ASA’s break in 1963, one other alliance was formed. This group was called Maphilindo, a reputation created by combining the primary letters of three member countries; Malaya, Philippines and Indonesia.
Unlike ASA, Maphilindo was built on a shared cultural identity. The leaders of those three nations desired to unite the Malay race throughout the region. They hoped to construct a powerful, independent bloc that would resist foreign interference from Western powers.
However, Maphilindo faced deep political problems from the very starting. At that point, Indonesia strongly opposed the formation of a brand new Federation of Malaysia, which led to a serious regional conflict referred to as the so-called Confrontation (Confrontation).
At that point, the primary president of Indonesia, Sukarno, began a confrontation under the slogan “Down with MalaysiaHe saw the brand new federation as possibly a British neo-colonial project.
Moreover, the Philippines also opposed the inclusion of Sabah within the newly formed Federation of Malaya, raising historic territorial claims that strained relations with Malaya. Ultimately, these tensions led to Maphilindo’s sudden decline.
Unity of the Mediterranean Countries
Although the ASA and Maphilindo quickly failed, they played an especially vital role within the history of Southeast Asia. These early attempts taught regional leaders two vital lessons.
First, they proved that Southeast Asian countries actually wanted to resolve their very own problems without counting on the good Western superpowers. Second, they showed that economic and cultural ties can assist heal deep political rivalries.
In 1967, the leaders of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore met again in Bangkok. They took the perfect ideas from ASA and Maphilindo, left ethnic and political strife behind, and officially formed ASEAN. Without the teachings learned from these two forgotten alliances, the successful ASEAN we all know today might never have been born.
