The ASEAN Financial Integration Framework (AFIF) envisions to make possible a world where market players in the Southeast Asian region will only need to comply with a single set of rules, enjoy equal access to all markets, and receive equal treatment. To the frustration of many of ASEAN’s residents, the pace of reforms in the region appears to be slow and the organization is generally seen as a failure when it comes to delivering an integrated financial market years after the project was first launched. However, unbeknownst to many, ASEAN is slowly transitioning into a rules-based regime where both hard law and soft law instruments are utilized within a single framework. Instead of lamenting the slowness of the pace of reform in the region, this paper posits that given the origins of the organization, the developments in international financial regulation elsewhere, and the unequal levels of development of the member states, it is already quite a feat for ASEAN to have come this far. With those factors in mind, a different (and less popular) conclusion is inevitable: ASEAN’s crafted solutions for its coordination problems have been adequate so far, taking into consideration the complications unique to this region due to the rich diversity of cultures, histories, and customs as well as the varying levels of development of the members of the organization.