In order to prevent the spread of communism and strengthen economic cooperation, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia formed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1967. Brunei joined in the 1980s. After the Cold War wound down in the early 1990s, the four nations that comprise ASEAN's "economic B team" -Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia-joined between 1995 and 1999.
1967 年，馬、星、泰、菲和印尼 5 國，為了防止共產主義蔓延擴散、加強經貿交流合作，正式成立了「東南亞國家協會」（簡稱東協），汶萊於 1980 年代加入；1990 年代初期冷戰結束後，4 個經濟後段班──越、寮、緬、柬──才在在 1995 到 1999 年間先後加入。