 The end of the Cold War allowed ASEAN countries to exercise greater political independence in the region, and in the 1990s ASEAN emerged as a leading voice on regional trade and security issues.On 7 January 1984, Brunei became ASEAN's sixth member and on 28 July 1995, Vietnam joined as the seventh member.Laos and Myanmar (formerly Burma) joined two years later on 23 July 1997.