CHANG MAI, Thailand -- The attention paid by the international media to the ASEAN gathering in Bangkok has been unusually lavish. If the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum was in need of publicity, it was certainly obtained in abundance. The beautiful land scape near the River of Kings, usually a focus of colorful tourist activity, has now been converted into a prominent diplomatic stage, not only for deliberations but also for ministerial retreats.

A number of developments took place at the ASEAN get-together, including:

* the institution of a new "troika" mechanism to tackle regional problems;