In ancient times, many cultures believed that certain words had magical properties; that merely uttering those words could evoke and unleash powerful forces. In our time, in certain circles, the word "Asean" has been invested with something of those magical qualities.

Those who had practised, or are still practising, the craft of diplomacy in South-east Asia, know that the reality is far more prosaic. Asean is just one sub-genre of regional diplomacy and regional organisations like Asean are just one instrument in this generic category of diplomatic tools which we call "multilateralism".