And why was Canberra having problems with committing itself to non-irtterference in other signatories' internal affairs? Unfortunately, such misgivings tend to overshadow the excellent cooperation that takes place between Australia and ASEAN and its individual members at the practical, operational level. In a piece in the 10 August 2005 issue of the Australian Internet journal New Matilda, I cited the long history of constructive relations between Australia and ASEAN and Southeast Asia and the Howard government's initial resistance to signing the TAC. The piece concluded: