SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) was formed in 1954 between the US, France, UK, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Pakistan and the Philippines. The purpose of SEATO was to protect East Asian countries from communism. During the time, the Cold War was becoming larger as the US and the Soviet Union were the two biggest powers in the world and were established on different principles (the US was capitalistic, where the Soviet Union was communistic). This rivalry intensified in developing regions around the world, where the communism and capitalism were fought to a stalemate in the Korean war and communism was gaining ground in northern Vietnam.