Whither ARF?

Stratfor has the following to say on the suddenly unpopular ARF:

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will not attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Laos on July 29. Li follows U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh in pulling out of this year's ARF. As ASEAN pushes toward the creation of the East Asia Summit, the limits and redundancies of its other regional initiatives are growing more apparent.