The year 2017 is a landmark for the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was established half a century ago.
Looking back on the past 50 years, ASEAN, whose 10 member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, has gone through several milestones to become a cohesive group of nations enjoying some of the biggest economic growth in the world.
In short, ASEAN has evolved from a group of nations aiming to stabilize Southeast Asia to a group trying to become a major economic engine for the world by creating a market without economic barriers. It started with five founding countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand — with Cambodia becoming the 10th member state in April 1999.