The early years: managing disputes and ZOPFAN

H1 History - syllabus 8838, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge how ASEAN responded to the Cold War in Southeast Asia, and why.

    Syllabus 8838, Theme III, Learning Outcomes. evaluate ASEAN's responses to the development of the Cold War in Southeast Asia

Make a guess

In 1968 the Philippines and Malaysia quarrelled over Sabah and broke off relations. How do you think ASEAN helped?

  1. It ruled that Sabah belonged to the Philippines.
  2. It sent peacekeeping troops to Sabah to keep the sides apart.
  3. Regular meetings kept the dispute from becoming a war.
Show the answer

Regular meetings kept the dispute from becoming a war.

ASEAN achieved little in economics early on, but it stopped quarrels between members from turning into fighting.

In its first years ASEAN achieved little in economics but helped stop quarrels, such as over Sabah, from becoming wars.

ASEAN's early years were slow, and people called it the "Foreign Ministers' Club". Its main success was stopping things going wrong. Regular meetings kept quarrels between two members from turning into fighting.

The Sabah dispute tested it. In 1968 the Philippines and Malaysia quarrelled over the Philippine claim, and broke off relations. ASEAN meetings were disrupted. The USA chose to stay out, so that ASEAN members would handle their own affairs. Relations were restored in 1969.

In November 1971, ASEAN set the aim of a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN). Members hoped to keep the great powers from meddling in the region. The USA was cutting back its role in Asia and opening ties with China.

During the Second Indochina War, ASEAN took no military role as a group. Members acted differently. Thailand and the Philippines sent troops to help the USA in Vietnam, while Indonesia stayed non-aligned. ZOPFAN stayed a hope rather than a fact.

Foreign Ministers' Club
Nickname for the early ASEAN.
Sabah dispute
1968-69: Philippines and Malaysia suspend relations.
ZOPFAN
Kuala Lumpur, November 1971.

Real examples to use

Sabah quarrel, 1968 to 1969

After the Corregidor killings of March 1968 exposed a Philippine plan to stir trouble in Sabah, Malaysia suspended relations in September 1968. They were restored at an ASEAN ministers' meeting in December 1969.

ZOPFAN, 27 November 1971

Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, ASEAN foreign ministers declared the aim of a zone free from great-power interference, though it had no means of enforcement.

Members in the Vietnam War

Thailand had more than 12,000 troops in South Vietnam by 1969 and the Philippines about 2,000 in a civic action group, while Indonesia stayed non-aligned.

Worked example: ASEAN's responses during the Second Indochina War

How did ASEAN respond to the Vietnam War?

  1. Collectively: no military role; ZOPFAN in 1971 as a long-term aim.
  2. Individually: Thailand and the Philippines supported the USA; Indonesia was non-aligned.
  3. Why: ASEAN's objectives and members' different national interests.
  4. Judgement: a cautious, limited response reflecting ASEAN's weakness.

Watch out for this

ZOPFAN made Southeast Asia neutral in 1971.

ZOPFAN was a declared aim. Foreign bases and alliances remained, so the region did not become neutral.

Check your understanding

What did ZOPFAN aim to do?

  1. Keep Southeast Asia free from great-power interference
  2. Bring the region into the Warsaw Pact
  3. Create an ASEAN army to defend the region
Show the answer

Keep Southeast Asia free from great-power interference

Right. It was declared in November 1971.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • The USA stays out of the Sabah dispute

    Paraphrase of an action memorandum from Assistant Secretary of State William Bundy to Secretary of State Rusk, 20 May 1968.

  • A CIA assessment of ASEAN

    Paraphrase of a CIA paper, "Regionalism in Southeast Asia: The Growth of ASEAN", 1 January 1981.

  • The USA should consult ASEAN

    Paraphrase of a memorandum from the Director of the State Department's Office of Regional Affairs, East Asia, 31 January 1977.

  • Thailand considers an ASEAN response

    Paraphrase of a telegram from the US embassy in Bangkok to the State Department, 4 January 1979.

  • Lee Kuan Yew on ASEAN's position

    Paraphrase of a letter from Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to President Carter, 1 March 1979.

  • the founding aims, 1967

    Paraphrase of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration), signed by the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, 8 August 1967.

  • the leaders report progress, 1977

    Paraphrase of the Joint Communique of the Second ASEAN Heads of Government Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, 5 August 1977.

  • an American intelligence assessment, 1981

    Extract from "Regionalism in Southeast Asia: The Growth of ASEAN", a research paper by the CIA's National Foreign Assessment Center, 1 January 1981, published in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980, volume XXII, document 149. A US government document in the public domain.

  • a free trade area, 1992

    Paraphrase of the preamble and Article 2 of the Framework Agreement on Enhancing ASEAN Economic Cooperation, adopted by the six ASEAN heads of government at the Fourth ASEAN Summit, Singapore, 28 January 1992.

  • bold measures after the crisis, 1998

    Paraphrase of the Statement on Bold Measures, issued by ASEAN leaders at the Sixth ASEAN Summit, Hanoi, 16 December 1998.

  • Vietnam joins ASEAN, 1995

    Extract from the Joint Communique of the 28th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Bandar Seri Begawan, 29-30 July 1995, paragraph 2, as circulated by Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council (UN document A/49/953-S/1995/652).

  • ASEAN welcomes Laos and Myanmar, 1997

    Paraphrase of paragraph 2 of the Joint Communique of the 30th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Subang Jaya, Malaysia, 24-25 July 1997.

  • the American Secretary of State on Burma, 1997

    Extract from an address by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Los Angeles, 23 July 1997, the day before she left for the ASEAN meetings in Kuala Lumpur. Released by the State Department, 24 July 1997. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Cambodia must wait, 1997

    Paraphrase of paragraph 15 of the Joint Communique of the 30th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Subang Jaya, Malaysia, 24-25 July 1997, written after fighting in Phnom Penh between the forces of Cambodia's two co-prime ministers in early July.

  • narrowing the gap, 2000

    Paraphrase of the Chairman's Statement of the Fourth ASEAN Informal Summit, Singapore, 24 November 2000, on the Initiative for ASEAN Integration.

  • a cartoon about expansion, 1997

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a regional newspaper cartoon published in late July 1997, after ASEAN admitted Laos and Myanmar and postponed Cambodia's entry. It is not a copy of a real cartoon. The words of the figure at the window echo Source C.

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