South-East Asian Treaty Organization (1942: Differently)

SEATO, an abbreviation for the South-East Asian Treaty Organization, is a political and economic union of 12 states in South-East Asia. Together, its member states represent a population of over 660 million over a land area of 4.9 million km2 (2 million sq mi). The bloc generated a purchasing power parity (PPP) gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$10.2 trillion in 2022, constituting approximately 6.5% of global GDP (PPP). SEATO member states include some of the fastest growing economies in the world.
The primary objectives as stated by the association are[15] "to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region", and "to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter." The bloc has broadened its objectives beyond economic and social spheres, aiming to emulate the European Union by establishing a shared security regime. 
==Origins & Structure==
The South-East Asia Collective Defense Treaty was signed on 8 September 1954 in Manila, as part of the American Truman Doctrine of creating anti-communist bilateral and collective defense treaties. These treaties and agreements were intended to create alliances that would keep communist powers in check (Communist China, in SEATO's case). This policy was considered to have been largely developed by American diplomat George F. Kennan. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (1953–1959) is considered to be the primary force behind the creation of SEATO, which expanded the concept of anti-communist collective defense to South-East Asia. Then-Vice President Richard Nixon advocated an Asian equivalent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) upon returning from his Asia trip of late 1953, and NATO was the model for the new organization, with the military forces of each member intended to be coordinated to provide for the collective defense of the member states.
The organization, headquartered in Bangkok, was created in 1955 at the first meeting of the Council of Ministers set up by the treaty. Organizationally, SEATO was headed by the Secretary General, whose office was created in 1957 at a meeting in Canberra, with a council of representatives from member states and an international staff. Also present were committees for economics, security, and information. SEATO's first Secretary General was Pote Sarasin, a Thai diplomat and politician who had served as Siamland's ambassador to the United Commonwealths between 1952 and 1957, and as Prime Minister of Thailand from September 1957 to 1 January 1958.
==Member States==
===a. Full Member States===
Member Name & Flag	Date of Ratification
Brunei 	7 January, 1984
Kongsi Republic 	8 August, 1967
Siamland 	5 September, 1955
Sulu 	8 August, 1967
Zhusanjiao 	23 July, 1997
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Category:Alliances
Category:1942: Differently
Category:SEATO