Myanmar's ASEAN Seat Remains Empty

The empty chair of Myanmar's Foreign Minister is pictured during a Plenary Meeting session of the 55th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phnom Penh, on August 3, 2022. Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP

PHNOM PENH – Myanmar says it will not send a non-political representative to the ASEAN Summit next month as junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has not been invited.



The 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits are set for Nov. 11-13 in Phnom Penh.



Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from attending ASEAN meetings since Oct. 2021. ASEAN has instead invited a non-political representative to take Myanmar's place. 



As 2022 host, Cambodia has sent out invitations to all ASEAN members except Myanmar and asked Naypyidaw to send a non-political representative.



“Myanmar will not send any non-political representative,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation spokesman Chum Sounry said.



The snub comes as Myanmar’s rulers have failed to implement the five-point consensus reached by ASEAN leaders in April 2021 to resolve the conflict after the 2021 coup in which the military seized power from a civilian government.


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