The federal opposition has seized on comments by a former diplomat who says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's plan for an Asian union is "dead in the water".
Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson said Mr Rudd's idea had no support in Asia and he should not have announced the plan "with a megaphone" after failing to consult other countries in the region.
Fairfax reported that Barry Desker, dean of international studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said Mr Rudd had failed to conform to standard Asian diplomatic practice when announcing a plan for an Asia-Pacific community last month.
"The problem that South-East Asians have is that this came out of the blue," Mr Desker told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute conference in Canberra.
"In a regional culture where you attempt to build support and create a broader base of opinion for a new idea, coming out of the blue results in very little support for the new idea.
"I would say it is dead in the water - right from the very beginning."
Dr Nelson said Mr Desker was a former Singaporean ambassador to Indonesia and one of the region's most respected diplomats.
"In other words it has no support in Asia, it should not have been announced with a megaphone in the ear from Australia and there should have been a degree of cooperation and consultation with other countries in the region," Dr Nelson said.
