As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations grapples with its biggest rift in years over how to treat Myanmar’s military regime, one thing is clear: Nobody actually wants the bloc to expel the generals.
Cambodia, which holds ASEAN’s rotating chairmanship, delayed a meeting of the group’s top diplomats this week as divisions emerged following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar earlier this month. On that trip, the Cambodian leader invited Myanmar’s foreign minister to participate in official meetings and met with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, whom ASEAN last year barred from a regional summit.
Those moves generated a backlash from other key members, with Malaysia’s foreign minister saying Hun Sen should’ve held consultations before conducting a trip that legitimized the regime. In a phone call with the Cambodian leader last week, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said ASEAN should continue to exclude Myanmar’s leaders from meetings until "significant progress” had been made on a five-point plan to halt violence and hold talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and other deposed leaders.
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