Why are Asean countries committed not to interfere in one anothers internal affairs?
The policy of non-interference in countries’ internal affairs is neither the invention nor the monopoly of Asean. This principle dates back to as early as the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648, which established the notion of the sovereignty of the nation-state. It is enshrined in resolution of the United Nations General Assembly and in the constituent acts of regional associations. It underpins the entire inter-state system. However, when Asean decline to do something about a problem internal to one of its members, it does so not because of a rigid adherence to some doctrine but out of self-interestno member would like others to interfere in its own affairsor out of the realistic recognition that many internal problems cannot be solved b measures imposed from outside.
