While the concept of “Asia Pacific community building” has received much attention in recent years, doubts have emerged that Asia Pacific countries have enough in common to be able to create a true community sense. At first glance, economic interdependence seems to be the only trait holding the countries together. Vast differences in religion, language, history, ethnicity, and ideology in the region threaten to halt community-building efforts. Governments and private companies are not capable of working through these differences on their own. The efforts of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)—including research institutions and foundations—are indispensable to the building of a community sense in a region that spans such a large geographic area as the Asia Pacific region.