Unresolved differences about engagement with Myanmar’s military rulers are causing discord among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), diplomats and government officials say, as a ministers’ meeting set for this week was pushed back.
The friction follows a tumultuous final few months of 2021 after Asean took the unprecedented step of sidelining Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from its leaders’ summit in the wake of a military coup and use of deadly force against protesters.
The thorny issue of Myanmar attending Asean events remains unresolved, said Indonesian foreign ministry official Abdul Kadir Jailani.
