Kuala Lampur, Feb. 8 -- Asean has never been static. Since its foundation in 1967 via the Bangkok Declaration, our regional grouping has been through several reinventions.

Asean's first three reinventions

The first reinvention, circa 1976 was, expectedly, on regional security, given the on-going Cold War then.

The grouping successfully maintained peace and stability for most of the region through frameworks like the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-east Asia (1976) and the Declaration of Asean Concord (1976). Interestingly, the very first Asean Summit only took place nine years after Asean's establishment, in February 1976, in Bali, Indonesia.

Asean's second reinvention occurred in the 1990's, where, post-Cold War, it focused ...