It is difficult to take ASEAN seriously most times – and for cynics, all the time. The much-anticipated inauguration of the Southeast Asian grouping’s human rights body finally happened last month, but activists were barred from the event and half of the representatives chosen for an ASEAN-civil society dialogue were not allowed to meet Southeast Asian leaders, while those who were allowed into the meeting were not permitted to speak. And then there’s Burma/Myanmar and the bickering between Thailand and Cambodia over Thaksin Shinawatra that is threatening to turn very ugly, adding to their long-running feud over Preah Vihear.

Juxtapose this against their fanfare and clamoring when it was first announced President Obama would be the first American president to meet with all 10 leaders of ASEAN member countries, including Burma/Myanmar, when he visits Singapore for the APEC Leaders Summit Yes, even though the White House says Burma/Myanmar won’t dictate its ties with ASEAN, it is difficult to envision any effective multilateral engagement between the U.S. and ASEAN if ASEAN can’t get its act together.

With so many other competing interests for the U.S. in East Asia, this could possibly be at the detriment of smaller nations in the ASEAN grouping if any multilateral engagement is futile and the Americans decide to revert to a bilateral strategy with countries they deem more important for various reasons, such as Indonesia and Myanmar. The Americans are eager to engage with the region because it recognizes increasing competition coming from South Korea, Japan and China in Southeast Asia. They see a vested interest in exerting their influence as ASEAN builds its organizational capacity, but for the regional grouping to be an effective proxy, it needs to accelerate its own maturity. American influence could possibly accelerate this process, but that’s being overly optimistic given the history of ASEAN.

On the eve of President Obama’s first venture into Asia he turns his attention to a vastly-changed landscape, but his packed itinerary suggests Southeast Asia could risk being sidelined. Indeed, he cut his time in Singapore by a day to accommodate a visit to South Korea and delayed his departure by a day to attend a memorial for Fort Hood victims on Tuesday. The U.S. main attention in East Asia is bound to be China and their foreign policy strategy, even of engaging Southeast Asia, could be seen as an extension of that focus.

Indeed, the highlight of his maiden swing through Asia is his time in China that would include stops in Shanghai and Beijing. He is expected to raise currency issues and growth imbalance when he meets Chinese officials , but not the prospect of a bilateral climate deal with the Chinese. For a regional grouping whose member nations are increasingly dependent on China economically, but still remain somewhat suspicious of the emergent giant, it is in ASEAN’s own interest to beef up its collective voice. It risks being sidelined in the global conversation otherwise.