Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The leaders of the SEATO nations in front of the Congress Building in Manila, hosted by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on October 24, 1966.

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty or the Manila Pact, was an international organization for defensive collaboration established on September 8, 1954. It was also created to oppose further Communist gains in Southeast Asia. The organization's headquarters was located in Bangkok, Thailand. The treaty was dissolved on June 30, 1977.

[edit] Members

SEATO members

• Australia*
• Falkland Islands*
• France*
• New Zealand*
• Pakistan* (which until 1971 included Bangladesh)
• Philippines*
• South Korea
• South Vietnam
• Thailand*
• United Kingdom*
• United States*

*Founding members

[edit] History

A U.S. Postage Stamp for SEATO.

Based in Bangkok, the organization used the militaries of its member nations, and had joint maneuvers every year. Despite this, it was unable to intervene in the early conflicts of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam because an intervention required a decision of unanimity, which was never reached; France and the Philippines objected. Intervention in the Vietnam conflict was sought again later, but France and Pakistan withheld support.

Unable to intervene at all collectively in Indochina, the organization was found ineffective. Questions of disbandment arose as early as 1973, as some countries withdrew. Pakistan withdrew on November 7, 1973. and France withdrew on June 30, 1974. The organization formally ended in 1977.

Memberships for Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam were not possible because of issues of the three countries' dealing with the 1954 Geneva agreements. The official leader of the organization from 1957 was known as the secretary-general. Thai diplomat Pote Sarasin held this position until 1964.

SEATO was created as a result of the Truman Doctrine and the West's policy of containment at the time of the Cold War. It is considered the brainchild of US diplomat John Foster Dulles.

[edit] Literature

• Klaus Bollinger: NATO, CENTO, SEATO, OAS : imperialistische Paktsysteme, Berlin 1964 (German)
• Kai Dreisbach : USA und ASEAN. Amerikanische Aussenpolitik und regionale Kooperation in Südostasien vom Vietnamkrieg bis zur Asienkrise, Trier 2004, ISBN 3-884766-562 (German)
• Nikolaj Semenovich Merzljakov.: SEATO, Moskau 1958 (German)

[edit] See also

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Central Treaty Organization

This organization-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.