It took Asean eight days to speak out about the deadly Erawan shrine blast in Bangkok. Is this the best we can expect from the group that is leading us into the brave new world of the Asean Economic Community?
Or is the lack of a response more a reflection of the confusing signals sent by Thailand's introverted leaders and policymakers?
Maybe Asean wasn't sure what to condemn, given all the theories advanced by just about anyone wearing a uniform in Thailand. Local political actors? Southern insurgents? Rogue cops or soldiers? International terrorists? Asean, when it finally did get around to saying something, chose the 'T' word.
"Asean strongly condemns the bombing as it had in the past condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever it is committed," said the statement.
Southeast Asia is no stranger to separatists, terrorists, militia-backed gangsters and jihadists. But Asean has never been comfortable with speaking out about situations in individual member countries. Its principle of non-interference remains sacrosanct.
But the scale of the Ratchaprasong bombing has stoked fears of a new phase of expanding terrorist networks.
That helps explain the dismay over Thailand's reluctance to seek international expertise. "No thanks, we can handle it," was the response of junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha when it was suggested that countries that have dealt with large-scale bombings, such as the US and UK, could offer valuable assistance.
Meanwhile, the business community and security analysts question whether Thailand is capable of the sophisticated surveillance and monitoring needed to curb the infiltration of lone-wolf terrorists or larger radical networks.
Other Asean countries have already begun to x-ray their own backyards, as they fear that nationals who have gone to join jihadi movements in Syria and Iraq will someday return and mount attacks at home, much as fighters returning from Afghanistan did more than a decade ago. About 1,000 Southeast Asians are estimated to have joined IS.
Unfortunately, communication and coordination between Thailand's intelligence forces and their peers in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia appear to have weakened since the Thai military took control of the country. Instead of sharing information with neighbours that have experienced serious security threats, Thailand has not moved from its "I can do it myself" mentality.
Thailand should learn from Indonesia, where the Jemaah Islamiyah network perpetrated the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
In recent years, smaller and less deadly strikes have targeted government authorities, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces. Most recently, Thai agencies including the National Council for Peace and Order were attacked by hackers. It's time for Thailand to take heed of these signs.
Anthony Davis, a veteran security analyst with IHS-Jane's, last week advanced the theory that the Bangkok bombing might have been executed by the Grey Wolves, an ultra-nationalist Turkish group infuriated by Thailand's forcible repatriation of Uighur refugees back to China.
Indonesia, meanwhile, worries about whether the Bangkok bombers had any links to radicals that it has arrested and convicted. An Indonesian court last month sentenced three Uighurs from China to six years in prison for conspiring with Indonesian militants.
The men were arrested in September while allegedly trying to meet Indonesia's most-wanted militant, Abu Wardah Santoso, in Central Sulawesi. Another Uighur and three Indonesians are still on trial. Santoso, the leader of the East Indonesia Mujahideen, is accused of killing several Indonesian policemen and claims allegiance to Islamic State.
The North Jakarta Court said the defendants conspired with a Santoso-led terrorist group in Poso in Central Sulawesi, the site of violence between Christians and Muslims in 2001 and 2002 in which more than 1,000 people died.
Since 2009, groups of Uighurs have travelled across Southeast Asia from China hoping to reach Turkey to claim asylum from what they say is persecution by Chinese authorities. China has alleged that some of them have in the past joined Islamic State and returned home to engage in terrorist plots.
"If Thailand asks us we can also track the entry-exit and mobile phone trail and find out the Uighurs or whoever could give practical information to shed light on these extremists," said a Malaysian senior intelligence official.
Meanwhile, here in Thailand we await a U-turn by our leaders -- or a miracle -- to learn the truth about who was behind the Erawan tragedy.