Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia is a peace treaty among Southeast Asian countries established by the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a geo-political and economic organisation of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia.

On 24 February 1976, the treaty was signed into force by the leaders of the original members of ASEAN,Lee Kuan Yew, Ferdinand Marcos, Datuk Hussein Onn, Kukrit Pramoj, and Suharto. Other members acceded to it upon or before joining the bloc. It was amended on 15 December 1987 by a to open the document for accession by states outside Southeast Asia, and again on 25 July 1998, to condition such accession on the consent of all member states. On 23 July 2001, the parties established the rules of procedure of the treaty's High Council, which was stipulated in Article 14 of the document. On 7 October 2003, during the annual summit, a declaration was released that says:

India and China were first, outside ASEAN to sign the treaty in 2003 at Bali, Indonesia. As of July 2009^[update], sixteen countries outside the bloc have acceded to the treaty. On 22 July 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed the TAC on behalf of the United States. The European Union announced in 2009 its intention to accede as soon as the treaty is amended to allow for the accession of non-states. The treaty has been endorsed by the General Assembly stating that:

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