ABSTRACT
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was originally founded in 1967 as a regional political organization of non-communist countries in Southeast Asia with a primary focus on security towards the communist bloc of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CALAVI).1 Thirty years after its inception, ASEAN officially admitted Vietnam as the seventh, and only communist, member of the organization. The enlargement process continues with the last three countries in Southeast Asia, namely, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, despite serious concerns by several countries over human right issues, especially in Myanmar. With all ten member countries in Southeast Asia, ASEAN accounts for an area of 2.3 million square miles (about 4 percent of the world total) occupied by a fast-growing population of nearly half a billion. The per capita income is, however, not evenly distributed within the region (see Table 9.1, last column). For example, at the top of the scale are the tiny oil-rich Brunei and newly-industrialized Singapore, while Malaysia and Thailand are trailing far behind; the three CALAVI countries finish at the bottom of the scale (see <https://www.asean.or.id>;; <https:// www.wto.org>; and <https://www.apecsec.org.sg>;).
