SOUTH-EAST ASIA TREATY ORGANIZATION

Abstract

This chapter presents the structure and activities of South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). The SEATO was established under the Pacific Charter and the South-East Asia Collective Defence Treaty, of September 8, 1954. Its members were Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. France and Pakistan later ceased to be active members of SEATO. The Council of SEATO, at its 20th annual meeting on September 24, 1975, agreed that in the light of changing circumstances in the South-East Asian region, SEATO should be phased out. The decision-making process of SEATO was not specified in the Manila Treaty. The Council was not invested with the power to bind member States. In 1955, the Council decided that it should act by unanimity. No provision was made by the Treaty for financing SEATO, but in practice the expenses of the Secretariat-General and Military Planning Office were borne by the richer members. No central fund was established to implement the economic and social objectives of Article Ill of the Manila Treaty.