Finally in 1976, they formally signed in Thailand, the Bangkok Declaration, the birth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with regional integration as its ultimate goal. This was the main effort to render Asean members free from the geopolitical and military tensions—and a shooting war—between the superpowers. (Indonesia under Sukarno was the first Southeast Asian country to host the first Afro-Asian Conference in Bali in April 1955. Indonesia had successfully inserted the word “mushawara” as a prerequisite in arriving at any formal decision for Asean. For the uninformed, it appeared that China is benevolent with foreign aid to the “poor” economies of Asean.

Source: Manila Times November 14, 2016 12:35 UTC