The Return of “Flexible Engagement”?
Unpublished commentary, December 2006. Since this comment was written, Surin Pitsuwan, the author of Flexible Engagement, has been nominated to be the next ASEAN Secretary-General from January 2008.
The leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will gather in the Philippines city of Cebu on December 10, 2006 to consider a variety of issues facing the organisation. One issue high on the agenda is the recommendations of the Eminent Persons' Group (EPG) on the ASEAN Charter. This could be a critical moment for the organisation, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year.