Recent demonstrations in Burma, led by Buddhist monks and crushed by the military junta, have provided an uncomfortable but useful dose of reality for south-east Asian leaders ahead of the signing of their flawed constitution in Singapore on Tuesday.

Forty years after the organisation was founded, the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations see their new charter as a sign that Asean has come of age. Sadly, the wording of the charter, including the vague promise of a regional human rights body, merely exposes Asean’s weaknesses and the ethical vacuum at its heart.