After 1975: the Bali Summit and new momentum

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge why ASEAN was formed in 1967 and what shaped how it grew.

    Syllabus 9174, Paper 2, Theme III, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the factors for the formation and development of ASEAN

Make a guess

In 1975 communists won in South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. What do you think ASEAN did next?

  1. Invited Vietnam to join straight away to keep the peace.
  2. Held its first summit and signed a treaty on peaceful relations.
  3. Broke up, as members sought US protection one by one.
Show the answer

Held its first summit and signed a treaty on peaceful relations.

Shocked, leaders met in Bali in 1976, signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and began economic cooperation.

The communist victories of 1975 shocked ASEAN into its first summit, a treaty on peaceful relations and early economic cooperation.

In 1975 communists won in South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and the USA seemed to be leaving the region. ASEAN leaders feared that Vietnam, now united and well armed, might threaten them.

In February 1976, ASEAN held its first summit, in Bali. Leaders signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. It said members would not interfere in each other's affairs and would settle quarrels peacefully. They also signed the Declaration of ASEAN Concord and set up an ASEAN office in Jakarta.

The treaty was open to other Southeast Asian states, including the communist ones. ASEAN hoped to coexist with Vietnam, but Hanoi was suspicious of a grouping it saw as linked to the USA.

Economic cooperation began, though slowly. A Preferential Trading Arrangement was agreed in 1977, and joint industrial projects were planned. ASEAN also started formal dialogues with major partners such as Japan, the USA and the European Community.

Bali Summit
February 1976: first ASEAN summit.
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation
Non-interference; peaceful settlement.
Preferential Trading Arrangement
1977.

Real examples to use

Bali Summit, 23 to 24 February 1976

ASEAN's first summit, a year after the communist victories of 1975, signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and the Declaration of ASEAN Concord, and set up an ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

Preferential Trading Arrangement, 24 February 1977

Signed in Manila to cut tariffs on selected goods traded between members, but members offered mostly items they hardly traded, so its effect was small.

Dialogue partners

From the 1970s ASEAN met Japan, the USA and the European Community as a group, giving small states more weight together than alone.

Worked example: Explaining the shift after 1975

Why did ASEAN become more active after 1975?

  1. Threat: a unified, strong Vietnam.
  2. Uncertainty: the USA seemed less committed after Vietnam.
  3. Response: the Bali Summit, the treaty and the Secretariat.
  4. Result: ASEAN gained cohesion it had previously lacked.

Watch out for this

The Bali Summit created a single ASEAN market.

It began economic cooperation, such as the 1977 Preferential Trading Arrangement, but real free trade came only with AFTA from 1992.

Check your understanding

What principle did the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation emphasise?

  1. Collective military defence against communist attack
  2. Non-interference and the peaceful settlement of disputes
  3. A common currency and a single market
Show the answer

Non-interference and the peaceful settlement of disputes

Right. These became core ASEAN norms.

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.

The Wise Otter

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