Can we please give ASEAN a bit of a break?

Yesterday was ASEAN's 44th birthday. I don't know if there was a cake, but there was a bit of a celebration at the Secretariat, and the ASEAN flag was flown across the SEA region and overseas.

I'm so used to reading about "inept ASEAN", and its "continuing impotence", that  I wasn't unduly surprised to see some of the birthday headlines: "ASEAN commission 'fails miserably in promoting, protecting human rights'", and "It is finally time for ASEAN to get it right on Burma".

Of course, ASEAN does need to do better on human rights, and the situation in Myanmar/Burma is a case in point. But these headlines pass over the point that ASEAN is doing better on human rights than it was, say, on its 24th birthday, and that no-one -- anywhere in the world -- seems to have much idea of how to "get it right on Burma".

Now, I am far from starry-eyed about ASEAN. After several years of research, I think I'm pretty clear about its manifold weaknesses and massive challenges.

And I don't want coverage of ASEAN to be all bland and polite. Criticism is important, even harsh criticism -- partly because it gets people talking, and partly because it can be part of a "good cop/bad cop" routine in allowing more "moderate" voices to push the envelope on change.

But my concern is that the balance is currently a bit out of whack. ASEAN often doesn't get a "fair go".

It's often expected to do things it really can't -- things that are actually the responsibility of its member states.  It's often expected to be something it's not, and probably shouldn't be. (Yes, I'm thinking of all those comparisons with the EU... I'm a huge EU fan, but in talking to people from SEA, I often get the distinct impression they think it's better than it actually is...)

ASEAN is also often encouraged to change practices like consensus and non-interference in favour of alternatives whose consequences remain vague. If we don't have convergence, and don't practise consensus, what do we use? Coercion? Trouble is, that's a bit one-way. We're often really happy to coerce other states into fast-tracking the agendas we're interested in -- but less happy to be on the receiving end of that coercion, when we're not keen, for domestic political reasons, to go racing ahead with other people's agendas.

And if we abandon the idea of non-interference, will that actually solve the underlying problem of lack of trust among SEA's states? And without more trust, will more interference bring a more peaceful SEA, or a less peaceful one?

No, ASEAN can't stay as it is. That's for sure. And yes, the people of SEA deserve something better. But I really wonder whether continually talking something down is the best way of improving it.

Other (not-quite-birthday) articles offer much less black-and-white perspectives on ASEAN diplomacy, Myanmar and the ASEAN chair, and economic cooperation. There's not a shred of complacency in any of these -- but no ASEAN-bashing either, and no easy answers.