ASEAN Holds Summit Without Myanmar

ASEAN members did not approve of Myanmar’s presence at the ASEAN Summit. Two weeks before the Summit, ASEAN Foreign Ministers agreed that the leader of Myanmar’s military junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, would not be invited to the virtual ASEAN Summit occuring on October 26th to 28th. They considered that Myanmar has not shown a commitment to implement the consensus agreed at the previous Summit on last April in Jakarta.

It shows when Myanmar did not allow the special envoy to meet civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s failure to stop violence in their country. There are five points that were agreed at the previous Summit:

1. The violence must stop immediately in Myanmar.
2. Constructive dialogue among all interested parties must be initiated to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.
3. ASEAN special envoy will facilitate the mediation of the dialogue process with the assistance of the ASEAN Secretary General.
4. ASEAN will provide humanitarian assistance through the AHA Centre.
5. Special envoys and delegates will visit Myanmar to meet all related parties.

The Summit was held virtually on October 26th, 2021 and was attended by several world leaders including the leader of the United States, Joe Biden. Citing from Reuters, The United States sees Southeast Asian nations’ decision to exclude Myanmar’s leader from the regional summit as a significant step but must be done to address the challenges facing the country after the military coup in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s junta Foreign Ministry said Myanmar’s head of government has equal rights to participate in the ASEAN Summit that is being held on October 26th-28th, 2021. By not being invited to the regional summit, Myanmar carried out a protest by boycotting the ASEAN Summit. The Myanmar military strongly opposes and accuses ASEAN of deviating from its norms and allowing itself to be influenced by other countries, including the United States.