TAC was signed by founding countries Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore in 1976. Other ASEAN members joined the TAC later to promote the treaty to an agenda for ASEAN member states to regulate their conduct through a general emphasis on peaceful settlement of differences and the principle of noninterference. The purpose of this Treaty is to promote perpetual peace, everlasting amity and cooperation among their peoples which would contribute to their strength, solidarity and closer relationship.
The signatories of the treaty extend cooperation in different fields further especially in economics and peace and stability, while respecting independence, territorial integrity and national sovereignty, equality, and national identity of member states. The Article 18 of the treaty provides the possibilities to other countries (than members) to join the treaty; two amendments to Article 18 in 1987 and 1998 were steps to centralize ASEAN in regional and international developments, and made accession by other countries provided that member states agree the accession.
In addition to 10 member states of ASEAN, 22 countries and the EU has joined the treaty. In Lao meeting in June 2016, 4 other countries joined to make the members 36 countries.
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