Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality
ZOPFAN is an acronym, meaning: "Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality "
The ZOPFAN Declaration was drawn up by the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States on an extraordinary meeting on 26 and 27 November 1971 in Kuala Lumpur. The declaration contains the claim Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to establish ( the then Member States of ASEAN ) as a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality. In particular, the interference of other powers (so were mainly the U.S. and the Soviet Union meant ), is rejected. It should also be formulated with the explanation of the claim of deepening cooperation within ASEAN, which should lead to the strengthening of relations and solidarity among Member States.
The ZOPFAN statement was in response to several political events in the region, who had to lead the ASEAN countries realize that their political influence in the region were very limited:
- The accelerated military withdrawal of Britain from Malaysia and Singapore, which had lead to a rethinking of security strategies of the two countries
- The Nixon Doctrine (also: Guam Doctrine ), see there
- Of the Soviet Union's proposal for a collective security alliance in Southeast Asia
- The incipient rise of China after the Cultural Revolution
- The intensification of the Sino -Soviet conflict
- The increasing relevance of Japanese economic power
- The spread of the Vietnam War into Laos and Cambodia
The declaration must be understood as a compromise that the Malaysian position of neutralization ( and thus the movement of ASEAN towards the Non-Aligned Movement ) and the reservations of the other ASEAN countries this step towards bringing to the lowest common denominator. The concerns about the proposed against Malaysian step arose ( such as in Indonesia) the fear that the complete renunciation of the two superpowers USA and the Soviet Union would increase China's influence in the region.
- Southeast Asia
- Abbreviation
- ASEAN
- Asian Organization