Remember the ASEAN Regional Forum? That was the experiment in multilateralism that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had hoped would become a real forum for regional security discussions. ASEAN would use that foundation to become an institution of truly global significance, offering a model for regional integration, organization and security. ARF held its annual meeting last week, and most of the world missed it. So much for ASEAN's grandiose ambitions.
What a difference a year makes. Last summer, ARF broke ground with the introduction of a new mechanism, "the troika" of past, present and future chairmen who would tackle regional problems, the induction of North Korea as a member, and progress on the "ASEAN plus Three" format that brought the organization together with Japan, China and South Korea. There were high hopes that ASEAN had surmounted the 1997 financial crisis and would again aspire to the heights that its founders had set.
The organization has since been beset by problems -- some pedestrian, some profound. For example, this year's meeting was chaired by Vietnam, a government with little experience in running such events. Being chair is not just a ceremonial matter: It involves organizing and running the meeting, setting the agenda, and being responsible for seeing that something significant is produced at the end. It takes more than good intentions to get results. There were questions whether Vietnam was up to the assignment.