THE world today is very different from 36 years ago when ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was formed. It has many challenges that cannot all be accommodated by ASEAN cooperation and trading blocks such as AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area). The meeting of 10 ASEAN heads of states in Bali last week not only reformulated the determination to work together, but also made us aware of an urgent need: AFTA must be rethought and its lev