As the dust settles from an Asean meeting last week marked by unprecedented rancour over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the focus of those pondering the future of the grouping is settling on two words: Hun Sen.
In November, the Cambodian prime minister will host his counterparts from Southeast Asia and beyond - including President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama - for the East Asia Summit.
And after the historic failure of last week's sessions to produce a communique amid a bitter struggle over its role in the disputes, some regional envoys are wondering whether Hun Sen will sow further discord.
Last week's breakdown in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - a body that is supposed to cherish unity and consensus - saw Hun Sen's long-serving foreign minister, Hor Namhong, accused by rival diplomats of 'doing China's bidding' in shattering the chances of a common position on the South China Sea.
The atmosphere risks poisoning upcoming talks between China and Asean on a long-awaited code of conduct to better control intensifying tensions in the South China Sea - which is rich in oil and gas and one of the world's most crucial waterways.
Having failed in a last-ditch attempt to secure a communique last Friday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa - representing Southeast Asia's largest nation - was this week shuttling between Hanoi, Phnom Penh and Manila to salvage something from a week of tension.
A hastily-arranged common statement issued last night in place of the failed communique- backed by Cambodian warnings that two unnamed countries were to blame - appears to have only highlighted the divisions now exposed across the region, analysts believe.
