Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

Flag of SEATO

In 1954, amidst the rising popularity of communism, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was formed to fight and end communism. The original members of SEATO were the United States, Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines. In a treaty each signed, the member countries pledged equality and economic cooperation with one another. They claimed that each dispute they faced would be settled using peace, and that an intervention would only occur when it had been agreed upon by all members. This treaty also had a Pacific Charter brought on by The Philippines’ request for the maintaining of self-determination, cooperation in both economic and social welfare development and equal rights if each country within the organization.

Many Southeast Asian countries saw this treaty as a way of bringing the fight against terrorism to Asia, and would not go along with it’s statement. Among the nations that preferred to remain nonaligned are India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. The Soviet Union, China, and North Vietnam also disagreed with SEATO. They claimed that including Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam in their sphere of action was going against the Geneva Conference, which had been held in 1954, the same year that SEATO was founded.

The countries involved in SEATO

Despite its good intentions, the SEATO did not succeed in ending communism in Southeast Asia. As the United States was defeated in the Vietnam War and communists gained power in Laos, French and British opposition prevented further intervention. Unable to make a move without full member approval, SEATO disbanded. Slowly, members withdrew from the organization, and the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization was officially dissolved in 1977.