When he invited South-east Asia’s leaders to an Asean-Australia “Special Summit” in Melbourne earlier in March, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hoped to showcase his government’s progress in deepening relations with the region. That is important, he says, because Australia’s Asean neighbours offer big economic opportunities, and are vital partners in navigating the perils of major power rivalry.

But if the summit showed anything, it was how far Australia still has to go before it achieves the depth of economic and strategic engagement with the region that it will need in the demanding decades ahead. Australia still struggles to understand what South-east Asia has achieved, and where it is heading.