A lthough its name gives no hint of it, Asean was envisioned to have an exclusively economic orientation. The world however woke up to its immense potentials as a regional body for its work in the political and security area, for the critical role it played in resolving the Kampuchean crisis.

Soon, with the adhesion of the communist states of the former Indochina, Asean was to emerge as a unique regional organization, one whose members followed various political and economic regimes. Indeed, one could logically expect Asean not to follow other, especially Western, models of regional integration, and instead to craft its future as its members see and think of and by themselves.