Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)Article Free Pass
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), regional-defense
organization from 1955 to 1977, created by the Southeast Asia
Collective Defence Treaty, signed at Manila on Sept. 8, 1954, by
the representatives of Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan,
the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United
States. The treaty came into force on Feb. 19, 1955. Pakistan
withdrew in 1968, and France suspended financial support in
1975. The organization held its final exercise on Feb. 20, 1976,
and formally ended on June 30, 1977. The formation of SEATO was
a response to the demand that the Southeast Asian area be
protected against communist expansionism, especially as
manifested through military aggression in Korea and Indochina
and through subversion backed by organized armed forces in
Malaysia and the Philippines. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (the
successor states of Indochina) were not considered for
membership in SEATO for reasons that related