ASEAN MOST LIKELY WON’T TAKE UP DRUG CRISIS IN THE PHILIPPINES -- OR ANY OTHER FIRESTORM ELSEWHERE IN REGION.

One, out of respect for the host country, which is the Philippines. Two, many other regional leaders at the Asean are themselves embroiled in controversies.

Such as the Rohingya refugee problem in Myanmar, the crackdown on dissenters in Cambodia, and the internal powder kegs in other places across Southeast Asia where human rights are “under siege.”

Duterte has for backers China and Russia. And he and U.S. President Trump mutually admire each other.

Human rights advocates can only fret.