• The Mandarin term “亚细安” is a transliteration of the English term “ASEAN”.
• The organisation was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signing of the “Bangkok Declaration” by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
• From the 1980s to 1990s, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar subsequently joined the organisation, making up what is today the Ten Member States of ASEAN.
• The aim of ASEAN is to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership.
• Since 1976, ASEAN Summits have been held from time to time for the discussion of various matters. Singapore assumed chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018 and has hosted two summits.
• ASEAN also has ten Dialogue Partners, namely Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
• Since its establishment, ASEAN has made outstanding contributions to consolidating peace and stability, and economic growth in the region, as well as promoting social and cultural exchanges among its member nations.

The ASEAN Summit will be held from the 26th to 29th of this month in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. To ensure the smooth progress of discussions, the Philippine government recently introduced several measures to strengthen security at and around the summit venue. (Lianhe Zaobao, 24/4/2017)