Asean’s importance too often underrated

In the sphere of multilateral diplomacy, the perception of Asean is quite different from its image as just a neighbourhood, as described in this article.
On July 19, in a commemorative resolution adopted by consensus, the United Nations General Assembly, acting on behalf of its 193 members, recognised Asean’s role as a regional organisation that promotes multilateralism and regional peace, stability and prosperity, including through the regional architecture led by Asean. It emphasised the importance of the centrality and unity of Asean in further strengthening the regional security architecture. 
The General Assembly also recognised the role of Asean in advancing political-security cooperation, sustainable economic growth and socio-cultural development in Southeast Asia.
This diplomatic assessment, ignored by the mass media, deserves to be globally known. Asean’s golden anniversary cannot be reduced to a purely regional event, since, in our present world of planetary vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities, Asean’s existence and activities involving more than 630 million people, representing 9 per cent of the world’s population, have a permanent and undeniable universal impact.
Ioan Voicu