The recent gatherings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, ended with much controversy. For one thing, ASEAN once again failed to seriously find a solution to the protracted conflict in the South China Sea, which has involved four ASEAN countries — Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei — plus China and Taiwan.
Seemingly ASEAN was unable to produce a unified stance vis-a-vis the South China Sea issue, thus raising a question if the organization is ready to achieve its community-building goal in 2015.
While much attention was paid to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, democratic development in the region was only mentioned in passing.