North Korea's July 5 missile launches were a timely reminder for East Asia. They served notice to foreign ministers attending the 13th meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) last last week in Kuala Lumpur that East Asia remains a dangerous place, and that their governments must work actively together to combat a variety of threats.
Critics charge that ARF is merely a talk shop long on rhetoric and short on action. By some standards that's true, but ARF, like Asia, is evolving and demonstrating the potential to tackle tough issues that the region faces.
The first of last week's meetings was the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, which brought together foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. That was followed by the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference, in which ASEAN met its "plus three" partners, Japan, China and South Korea, and others -- such as the United States, Australia, the European Union and Russia -- for a "10-plus-10 working lunch." These representatives were joined by yet more ARF colleagues to tackle broader regional security concerns.