Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly referred to as ASEAN, pronounced /'ɑ.si.ɑn/ ("AH-SEE-AHN") in English, is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand as a display of solidarity against communist expansion in Vietnam and insurgency within their own borders. Since then the role of the organization has changed drastically, and today Vietnam itself is a member, its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, and the promotion of regional peace.

In 2005, the bloc had a combined GDP (Nominal/PPP) of about USD$884 billion/$2.755 trillion growing at an average rate of around 4% per annum. Nominal GDP had grown to $1,066.4 billion in 2006.