The book, ASEAN Centrality: An Autoethnographic Account by a Philippine Diplomat, written by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ resident ASEAN specialist, Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso proves the point that diplomats and scholars should join forces to make this world a more coherent, more compassionate and more affable place to live in.

Ambassador Buensuceso’s evocative, direct, uncomplicated but authoritative style is a refreshing departure from the boring reportage of ASEAN reports and treatises on the one hand and on the other, the incomprehensible balderdash of some academics pretending to interpret diplomacy from their distorting lenses of the wrong grade. Never since the renowned former ASEAN Secretary General Rodolfo Severino do we find the rare combination of the academic perspective beautifully blended with the actual experience of a seasoned diplomat as in this author.

ASEAN Centrality is a concept that has, time and again, been put to the test. Once again, the world is experiencing a creeping polarization among the powers and countries of the world. And once again, their chosen theater is the region where the ASEAN Member States are in the midst of two of the most volatile flashpoints in the world—the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea. The region has gotten a new name: the Indo-Pacific arena, resurrected from its uncertain beginnings in 1994 when it was first broached. The big powers are now testing and approaching ASEAN for alliances and cooperation. How ASEAN will take advantage of the opportunities of this renewed interest and not be swept away in the currents of contending forces will once again bring ASEAN Centrality to the fore and its greatest test. Even political instability among its members, as in the current crisis in Myanmar, is a clarion call for ASEAN Centrality to play its part and acquire substantive meaning beyond mere intention.

Ambassador Buensuceso makes an inventory of various definitions and views on ASEAN Centrality, juxtaposes them with her own take, and concludes that indeed, ASEAN Centrality should be understood from the point of view of one who has experienced and practised it. Her definition is fact-based and practical. It can be operationalized, observed, and put to test easily. It can serve the interest of ASEAN in a practical manner. She is able to define her parameters of what constitutes ASEAN Centrality that makes for an interesting, informative reading.