The ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold summit meetings in Vientiane, Laos on 29-30 November 2004. The summit will include discussions with leaders of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (as a part of the 'ASEAN Plus Three' process) and also India. ASEAN leaders will also host a special summit on 30 November 2004 with the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers to commemorate 30 years of multilateral relations. This research note reviews ASEAN's directions in regional cooperation, Australia's relations with ASEAN, and the issues arising for Australia at the Vientiane summit meetings.