Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

(noun)

An international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact. The formal institution was established on February 19, 1955. Primarily created to block further communist gains in Southeast Asia, it is generally considered a failure because internal conflict and dispute hindered general use of it military.

Related Terms

Examples of Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in the following topics:

  • The Eisenhower Administration

    • As president, Dwight Eisenhower (1953-61) presided over eight years of relative peace and moderate economic growth at home while his foreign policy initiatives, including U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, shaped the global order for decades to come.
    • Defense treaties with South Korea and the Republic of China were signed, and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) alliance was formed in an effort to halt the spread of Communism in Asia.
    • Eisenhower also increased U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.

  • Centralization in the Maurya Empire

    • Employing a carefully organized bureaucratic system, the Maurya Empire was able to maintain security and political unity across large parts of Western and Southern Asia.
    • The organizational structure began at the imperial level with the emperor and his Mantriparishad, or Council of Ministers.
    • Under the Indo-Greek friendship treaty during Ashoka's reign, the Mauryan international network of trade saw great expansion.
    • Greek states and Hellenic kingdoms in West Asia became trading partners.
    • Trade also extended through the Malay Peninsula into Southeast Asia.

  • Latino Rights

    • Roybal ran for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, community activists established the Community Service Organization (CSO) which effectively registered 15,000 new voters in Latino neighborhoods.
    • These activists identified the failure of the United States government to live up to the promises it had made in Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
    • Student groups like these were initially concerned with education issues, but their activities evolved to include participation in political campaigns and protest against broader issues such as police brutality and the U.S. war in Southeast Asia.