ORBIS

Alliance · Union of neighbors

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASEAN is a group of 11 countries in Southeast Asia. Five countries founded it in Bangkok in 1967. Members trade freely with each other and meet to settle regional problems. Timor-Leste joined on October 26, 2025, as the 11th member. Every decision requires consensus, and members do not interfere in each other's internal affairs. Together the 11 countries have about 700 million people.

Updated October 2026 · Members from the ASEAN Secretariat

The flags of the 11 ASEAN members and the blue ASEAN flag in a row on a stage, under a screen reading 48th ASEAN Summit Plenary
Members' flags at the ASEAN summit in Cebu, the Philippines, May 2026. Photo: Presidential Communications Office of the Philippines, public domain.
Members
11
Timor-Leste joined last, in 2025
Founded
1967
In Bangkok, by 5 countries
People
700 million
8.5% of the world
Economy
$4.2tn
3.6% of the world's, 2025
Chair in 2026
Philippines
Myanmar gave up its turn

Which countries are in ASEAN?

Eleven. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand founded ASEAN in Bangkok on August 8, 1967. Before signing, their five ministers spent four days at a beach resort in Bang Saen, negotiating between rounds of golf. They later called it "sports-shirt diplomacy." Brunei joined in 1984, a week after independence, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. Cambodia had been due to join in 1997, but ASEAN put it off after Hun Sen ousted his co-prime minister that July.

Timor-Leste applied in March 2011 and joined on October 26, 2025. In July 2026 ASEAN's Secretary-General, Kao Kim Hourn, said it would be the last new member. ASEAN's charter admits only countries in Southeast Asia, which rules out Papua New Guinea, an observer since 1976, and Bangladesh.

Map of Southeast Asia. The 11 ASEAN members are blue: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and Timor-Leste. Papua New Guinea, an observer, is dark blue. China, India and Bangladesh are not members.
  • Member
  • Observer
  • Not a member

How ASEAN grew

Countries that joined in each year, and the total after

  1. IndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeThailand19675 founders
  2. Brunei19846
  3. Vietnam19957
  4. LaosMyanmar19979
  5. Cambodia199910
  6. Timor-Leste202511

All 11 members and the year each joined

  • Brunei1984
  • Cambodia1999
  • Indonesia1967
  • Laos1997
  • Malaysia1967
  • Myanmar1997
  • Philippines1967
  • Singapore1967
  • Thailand1967
  • Timor-Leste2025
  • Vietnam1995

What does ASEAN do?

ASEAN decides by consultation and consensus, and its charter bars members from interfering in each other's internal affairs. The charter has no way to suspend or expel a member. ASEAN's biggest achievement is trade. Under a free trade area agreed in 1992, the six older members had cut tariffs to zero on 99.2% of tariff lines by 2016. Still, only 21.4% of members' goods trade in 2024 was with each other. China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner since 2009, and the United States is its largest export market outside the group.

RCEP, a free trade agreement in force since January 1, 2022, links 10 ASEAN members with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, about 30% of the world's economy. India pulled out in November 2019. Timor-Leste has not joined it yet.

ASEAN

11
Map of the 11 countries in the ASEAN
11 members, one free trade area, one economic community. All decisions by consensus.

RCEP

15
Map of the 15 countries in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Free trade since 2022 between 10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Why are Myanmar's leaders kept out of ASEAN summits?

Because of the 2021 coup. Myanmar's army seized power on February 1, 2021. That April, ASEAN's leaders met the coup leader, Min Aung Hlaing, in Jakarta and agreed a Five-Point Consensus: an end to violence, talks among all sides, a special envoy, humanitarian aid and a visit by the envoy. Since October 2021 ASEAN has invited only a "non-political representative" of Myanmar to its summits. ASEAN says progress on the plan has been "minimal."

Min Aung Hlaing became president on April 10, 2026, after an election in which the party that won in 2020, the NLD, could not run. ASEAN has "noted" the vote but not endorsed it, and Myanmar still sends a civil servant to summits. Members disagree about letting him back. Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia hosted him between July and September 2026. The war has displaced more than 4 million people inside Myanmar, by UNHCR's count in August 2026.

Myanmar and ASEAN

  1. 1997Myanmar and Laos join ASEAN
  2. 2021The army seizes power on February 1
  3. 2021In April, ASEAN's leaders and the coup leader agree a five-point plan
  4. 2021From October, only a non-political representative is invited to summits
  5. 2023The Philippines takes over Myanmar's turn as 2026 chair
  6. 2026Min Aung Hlaing becomes president after a military-run election; ASEAN does not endorse it

What do ASEAN countries argue with China about?

The South China Sea. China claims most of it, inside a "nine-dash line" on its maps. Four ASEAN members claim parts of the same islands and waters: Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. In 2016, in a case brought by the Philippines, an international tribunal ruled unanimously that China has no legal basis for historic rights inside the line. It did not rule on who owns any island. China called the ruling "null and void."

The dispute also divides ASEAN. In July 2012 its foreign ministers failed to issue a joint statement for the first time in 45 years, after Cambodia, the chair, objected to mentioning Scarborough Shoal. ASEAN and China promised a code of conduct in 2002 and pledged to finish it by 2026. As of October 2026 it is not agreed. On September 18, 2026, a Chinese coast guard ship rammed a Philippine fisheries vessel near Sabina Shoal.

ASEAN members with claims in the South China Sea

  • PhilippinesSpratlys, Scarborough Shoal

    The Philippines brought and won the 2016 case. China has held Scarborough Shoal since 2012. Chinese ships have harassed and at times blocked Philippine supply runs to Second Thomas Shoal, most recently in September 2026.

  • VietnamParacels, Spratlys

    China seized the rest of the Paracels from South Vietnam in 1974. Vietnam has built about 2,771 acres of new land in the Spratlys, about half as much as China, according to AMTI in May 2026.

  • MalaysiaSpratlys

    Malaysia claims 11 Spratly features on its continental shelf off Borneo and holds five, including Swallow Reef since 1983.

  • BruneiLouisa Reef

    Brunei claims the sea and seabed around Louisa Reef but is the only claimant that holds no feature.

  • IndonesiaNot a claimant

    Indonesia says it has no claim. China's line overlaps its waters north of the Natuna Islands, which Indonesia renamed the North Natuna Sea in 2017.

Outside ASEAN, claims over the same islands

How rich is each ASEAN country?

Very unequally. Singapore's GDP per person was $99,365 in 2025, 68 times Timor-Leste's $1,464. Brunei, rich from oil and gas, comes second. Indonesia is the giant: 286 million people, two in five of ASEAN's 700 million, and about $1.45 trillion, a third of the group's economy. Together the 11 members produced $4.25 trillion in 2025, 3.6% of the world's output, with 8.5% of its people. ASEAN's own statistics office ranked the group the world's fifth-largest economy in 2024.

GDP per person, 2025

Full ranking →
  1. Singapore$99,365
  2. Brunei$34,678
  3. Malaysia$13,949
  4. Thailand$8,057
  5. Indonesia$5,082
  6. Vietnam$4,829
  7. Philippines$4,270
  8. Cambodia$2,762
  9. Laos$2,288
  10. Myanmar$1,502
  11. Timor-Leste$1,464
Current US dollars, IMF World Economic Outlook.

Is it in ASEAN?

Short answers for the countries people ask about most.

Is Timor-Leste in ASEAN?

Yes

Timor-Leste became the 11th member on October 26, 2025, more than 14 years after it applied in March 2011.

Is Myanmar in ASEAN?

Yes

A member since July 23, 1997. Its political leaders have been kept out of summits since October 2021, after the coup.

Is Papua New Guinea in ASEAN?

Observer

An observer since 1976. ASEAN's Secretary-General said in July 2026 that it lies outside Southeast Asia and cannot join.

Is China in ASEAN?

No

ASEAN's largest trading partner since 2009 and a full dialogue partner since 1996. It disputes waters in the South China Sea with four members.

Is Australia in ASEAN?

No

In 1974 it became ASEAN's first formal dialogue partner. It trades with ASEAN members through RCEP.

Is India in ASEAN?

No

A dialogue partner since 1995, with a goods trade agreement in force since 2010. India pulled out of RCEP in November 2019.

Is Taiwan in ASEAN?

No

Not a member or dialogue partner. Taiwan supplied 7.4% of ASEAN's imports in 2024, the fourth-largest share.

Is Sri Lanka in ASEAN?

No

Sri Lanka was invited to be a founding member in 1967 and declined, citing non-alignment.

Is Bangladesh in ASEAN?

No

It has not applied. ASEAN's Secretary-General said in July 2026 that its location rules it out. Bangladesh is seeking to join RCEP.

Is Japan in ASEAN?

No

A dialogue partner informally since 1973 and formally since 1977. Japan is a member of RCEP.

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