For many years, the regional collective known as the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) has prided itself on a policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of its fellow member states.
But it is a policy that is increasingly coming under pressure, as calls for reform in the military-ruled Burma become more strident.
This weekend at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec), United States President George W Bush met with seven Asean leaders on the sidelines of the summit, asking them to focus on their fellow member, stressing that current conditions in Burma were "totally unacceptable".
But while the topic of Burma is likely to be on the agenda when the 10 Asean leaders meet on the Philippine resort island of Cebu next month, Asean Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told Today that it is not likely to take "centrestage".
Said Mr Ong: "Some of the Asean leaders feel that we have made our stand clear. When we discuss Myanmar, we talk about it behind closed doors ... we settle this among ourselves. It will be discussed, but it won't be the centrestage issue."
While Asean needs to make a "strong stand" on Burma to maintain its "credibility", there are other "pressing issues" for the group, he added.
Topics on economic integration, free-trade agreements and the setting up of an Asean Charter would be high on the agenda, said Mr Ong, who was previously the press secretary to former Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Burma, which celebrates its 10th year in Asean next year, frequently hogs the international spotlight when Asean leaders meet. Its junta, currently led by Senior General Than Shwe, took power in 1988. Two years later, it called for an election that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won — but the military refused to hand over power.
Asean's stance of engaging rather than isolating Myanmar has drawn international flak, with some calling the grouping of nations a "toothless tiger".
But over the years, Asean has increased pressure on Burma to reform and release its political prisoners — including Ms Suu Kyi, who has spent 11 of the last 17 years under house arrest.
Yesterday, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar made new calls for the junta to release its most famous political prisoner.
"If they can move towards democracy and they have more confidence and trust in United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari ... we hope he will be successful," Mr Hamid told reporters.
Mr Gambari, a Nigerian diplomat, met 61-year-old Suu Kyi last week in a rare visit allowed by the ruling junta. This meeting followed after Malaysia signalled in June that the region was close to washing its hands of Burma, urging the UN to take over the case.
The military regime thumbed its nose at the Malaysian Foreign Minister in March, when he travelled to Rangoon as an Asean envoy to check on its claims that it was shifting towards democracy.
Mr Syed Hamid was denied access to Ms Suu Kyi, prompting him to say that regional leaders were "frustrated and disillusioned" with their intransigent neighbour.
Getting Burma to reform through pressure from Asean is difficult, said Mr Ong, since the grouping has little "leverage" on the country.
Asean's trade ties with Burma are "insignificant", he added. "Investments in Myanmar can be repudiated. They don't need these investments."
Agreeing, Dr Ralf Emmers of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies said Asean has been placed in an "unfair situation".
"It's important to be realistic about what Asean can actually do," he said. "Asean has really tried through diplomacy to see transformation. If (Myanmar) is unwilling to change, it's hard to impose it in anyway.
While Asean has recently shown it could work together with Indonesia to tackle the haze problem, dealing with Burma is a different ball game, said Dr Emmers.
Unlike Indonesia, which was a "willing party", Burma is "self-contained and isolated from the rest of the world", he said. "You don't have that willingness to collaborate with regional countries."
Tough economic sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union, as well as diplomatic coaxing by regional countries, has reaped little progress thus far.
But rising economic powerhouses such as India and China, which share borders with Burma, could help, said the experts. These countries, said Dr Emmers, have "geo-strategic" and trade interests with Burma.
"We realise that none of the strategies implemented are really succeeding. At the end of the day, it won't be Asean countries that will be able to make a difference."
Despite this, Asean will continue to engage Burma using the junta's "seven-step roadmap" to democracy, said Mr Ong.
The blueprint, first unveiled by the junta at an Asean summit in Bali three years ago, defines Burma's plan to reform by taking steps, including setting up a constitution and holding an election.
Said Mr Ong: "It does not do Asean any good if we cannot move in our cooperation with the rest of the world. If they don't settle this, it's going to hamper our cooperation and relations with other countries."