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Message: <blockquote data-quote="saraprobe" data-source="post: 728202" data-attributes="member: 13914">Bangkok (ANTARA News) - Sri Lanka missed its chance to join the nascent Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a meeting held in Bangkok four decades ago, primarily because of objections raised by Singapore, a Thai daily claimed on Monday.Sri Lanka sent two ministers to apply for membership in ASEAN on August 6, 1967, when foreign ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore met at Thailand's Bang Saen beach resort to hash out the Bangkok Declaration, which led to the birth of the regional grouping, reported The Nation newspaper.But the Sri Lankan application was snubbed by Singapore's then foreign minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, said the English-language daily, citing a retired Thai diplomat."It was Rajaratnam of Singapore who opposed the inclusion of Sri Lanka," said Sompong Sucharitkul, 75. "He argued the country's domestic situation was unstable and there would be trouble. Not good for a new organization," Sompong was quoted by DPA as telling The Nation in a rare interview.Sompong was a close aide to Thanat Khoman, the Thai foreign minister at the time of the meeting in Bang Saen. The Bangkok Declaration was finally signed on August 8, 1967, ASEAN's official birthday.ASEAN, which remains a key economic and political grouping in Asia, now includes Brunei, which joined in 1984, Vietnam (1995), Laos and Myanmar (1997) and Cambodia (2000), plus the five original members - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.The only South-east Asian nation that has not yet been included in the regional club is East Timor. Sri Lanka is considered part of South Asia. (*)<img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/angry.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":angry:" title="Angry    :angry:" data-shortname=":angry:" /> <a href="http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/8/6/sri-lanka-blocked-from-joining-asean-by-singapore/" target="_blank">ANTARA news</a></blockquote>

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