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U.S. – ASEAN Timeline
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7 MINUTE READ
March 31, 2022

 

Five focus areas of U.S. partnership with ASEAN:

  1. Economic integration
  2. Maritime cooperation
  3. Emerging leaders
  4. Opportunity for women
  5. Transnational challenges

 

Partnership Timeline:

1967: ASEAN was founded. Established on August 8, 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is now comprised of ten member states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

1977: The United States began engaging with ASEAN as a dialogue partner.

1978: President Carter met with Ministers from ASEAN during the first U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Washington. This gathering in Washington is referred to as the Second ASEAN-US Dialogue.

1979: Secretary Vance attended a meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers in Bali. This was the first official dialogue between a U.S. Secretary of State and ASEAN foreign ministers.

1980-2001: The U.S. and ASEAN hold sixteen joint dialogues.

Early 1999: Development cooperation increased dramatically through the launch of economic programs focusing on trade and investment, technology transfer, and education.

2002: Secretary of State Powell announced the ASEAN Cooperation Plan (ACP), which sought to strengthen the ASEAN Secretariat, build regional capacity to address transnational challenges, and foster economic integration.

2005: The U.S. and ASEAN released the Joint Vision Statement on Enhanced Partnership.

2006: ASEAN and the United States signed the ASEAN-United States Trade and Investment Framework (TIFA).

2008: The United States was the first non-ASEAN country to name an Ambassador to ASEAN.

2009:

  • President Obama became the first U.S. president to meet all ten ASEAN leaders as a group.
  • The United States became a party to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the anchor diplomatic document of ASEAN, opening the door for the United States to join the East Asia Summit.

2010:

  • The United States became the first non-ASEAN country to establish a dedicated Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta.
  • The United States, represented by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attended the fifth East Asia Summit for the first time in October 2010.

2011:

  • The United States appointed its first resident Ambassador to ASEAN.
  • The United States became the first country to establish a dedicated Military Advisor/Liaison Officer at the U.S. Mission to ASEAN Jakarta.

2013: President Obama launched the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), a U.S. government signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia. By December 2016, YSEALI had almost 100,000 members.

2014:

  • The United States and ASEAN launched the Science and Technology Fellows Program.
  • The Secretary of Defense hosted his ASEAN counterparts in the United States for the first time for the U.S.-ASEAN Defense Forum in Hawaii to discuss important strategic issues.

2015:

  • The United States announced a new Technical Advisor to ASEAN to support increased information-sharing on transregional threats.
  • The United States elevated the U.S.–ASEAN relationship to a strategic partnership at the U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in November.

2016:

  • In February, the United States hosted the Sunnylands Summit, the first U.S.-ASEAN stand-alone summit conducted in the United States.
  • The United States established U.S.-ASEAN Connect, a strategic framework for increased economic engagement with ASEAN.

2017: The United States celebrated ASEAN’s 50th Anniversary and 40 years of friendship with the ASEAN Community.

2019: The United States welcomed the issuance of the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific” by the ten leaders of ASEAN.

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