The Asia-Pacific Scout Region is the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Makati, Philippines, with satellite offices in Australia and Japan. The Asia-Pacific Region services Scouting in the land area of Asia south of Siberia and east of Central Asia, and the bulk of the Pacific Basin, with the exception of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, which are under the Interamerican Region by way of the Aloha Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The Asia-Pacific Scout Region has witnessed the births and rebirths of national Scout organizations since the region was founded in 1956. Starting with ten founding members, it grew to 27 member countries by 2016, out of which 25 are full-fledged members and two are associate members, encompassing 30 million Scouts. Eight of the 15 largest Scout associations in the world are in the Region. All the formerly communist states of Central Asia and the Soviet Union have developed or are developing Scouting in the wake of the renaissance in the region. For several years, communism repressed Scouting in Afghanistan, where it has newly returned, as well as in Mongolia, which had been the first Soviet satellite state since 1924. On the other hand, the World Scout Committee accepted in 2009 the declaration of Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia of having 17 million members for the census 2008. This has directly affected and changed the membership figure in the region, resulting in an increase of 9 million members, which now stands at a total of 24.7 million in 2009. Widely separated by uneven resources, cultures, ethnic groups and technological resources, Scouting in the Asia-Pacific Region generally enjoys the respect of the public and by governments, a wide array of volunteers encompassing public and private sectors, and is powered by a small but committed group of professionals in the Scouting service. The current Regional Chairman is Dale Corvera, serving the terms 2002–2028 while the current Regional Director is Jose Rizal Pangilinan. Both are from the Philippines. Corvera was elected by fellow Committee members to serve as chair following elections for the APR Regional Scout Committee held 16 Feb 2022. He replaced the outgoing Regional Director His Excellency, Ambassador Ahmad Rusdi of Indonesia. (On 11 May 2022, the Philippines Caraga Region Commission of Election proclaimed Dale Corvera, who ran as representatives in the second legislative