Six ambassadors walked into a cleanup in Singapore.

It was Sunday. The Philippine ambassador was there. Brunei and Cambodia and Myanmar and Thailand. Timor-Leste, too.

People who normally spend their days in pressed suits discussing regional cooperation had come to Punggol Coast Digital Village, where regional cooperation was lying around waiting to be picked up.

More than 100 people showed up with them recently for Asean Unite 2026, a community cleanup organized by Singapore's Public Hygiene Council.

Unite, incidentally, stands for "yoU aNd I Together Everytime."

Somebody worked very hard on that.

The ambassadors joined their communities for the cleanup.

Thailand brought around 50 officials and community members. Singapore even sent a senior parliamentary secretary.

There was picnic, games, music; Filipinos from the United Cordillerans Chapter Singapore came with gongs and danced. Filipino healthcare worker Iveca Cale Villalon Ignacio sang. Myanmar and Thailand brought performances.

It was the second year they had done it. More than 600 people joined the first cleanup in 2025.

There are grander forms of diplomacy of men saying "fruitful discussions" after discussions that produced no visible fruit.

This was harder to fake.

There was a dirty place. People came. Six ambassadors came with them. And, when everybody went home, the place was cleaner.