The ASEAN summit finished with something of a mutual love-in. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was emphatic that Canberra’s ties with regional partners “had never been stronger”. And ASEAN’s chair for this year, Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, labelled Australia the grouping’s “oldest and dearest friend”.

Nevertheless, the final declaration, predictably enough, was somewhat different from earlier drafts that surfaced late last year. Gone are the tougher references that Canberra wanted on the Taiwan straits, Ukraine, Myanmar and North Korea. It wants the South China Sea to become a “sea of peace”.