There is a better than even chance that this is the only article you will ever read about the Asia Pacific Roundtable that was held earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur. That's a pity. Not only because the meeting has some history behind it -- this year marked the 15th annual get-together -- or because the several hundred attendees came from countries that spanned the globe.

No, the real pity is that the three days of discussions will go largely unheralded even though they are an integral part of 21st-century diplomacy. That is odd. After all, government representatives were present and some of the topics would be familiar to anyone who follows the news. But most participants were not government officials, and many of the agenda items won't be found in Foreign Ministry briefing papers.

The APR is a "track two" meeting. Track-one meetings are official government-to-government encounters. As such they are subject to diplomatic protocol: Who gets to attend, who gets to speak and what they say are tightly controlled. These days most meetings are virtually scripted. Many feature dreary performances by ministers or their substitutes who read prepared papers with nary a sideways glance. The scene would be familiar to watchers of Diet telecasts.