ASEAN is back. That is the message coming from Bangkok this week as foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations hold their annual get-together. North Korea's debut at the ASEAN Regional Forum, which follows the foreign ministers' meeting, has contributed to the optimism, as has the economic recovery among the group's members. Both are promising signs; neither is permanent. If ASEAN wants to reclaim its place on the international stage, the group's members are going to have to make some hard choices about their organization, its purpose and its operating principles.
ASEAN could be a major global player. It is home to about 500 million people, and its members include some of the fastest growing economies in the world. It is strategically located, at both an economic and geographic nexus. It is the only international institution in this part of the world, and has gradually expanded to include, in one manner or another, all the significant players in the region.
Yet ASEAN has not lived up to expectations. Its members account for only 1.5 percent of world gross domestic product; by contrast, the United States alone has more than 20 percent. The organization's lackluster response to the 1997 financial crisis and the chaos in East Timor last year prompted many to dismiss it as a talk shop, incapable of responding to crises no matter how important.