Myanmar boycotts ASEAN Summit after bloc shuts out Tatmadaw head General Min Aung Hlaing

In a major snub to Myanmar's junta, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its opening statement made no mention of the absence of any delegate from the country in its annual conference that kicked off today (October 26) morning. Myanmar had announced it would skip the annual meet to protest ASEAN's decision to shut out top Myanmar military leader General Min Aung Hlaing for refusing to cooperate in defusing the crisis in his country after overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February last year.    

As per the Associated Press, Brunei had invited Myanmar's highest-ranking diplomat Chan Aye to participate "non-politically" in the Summit, only to be turned down.

Myanmar's move came after its Foreign Ministry challenged its unprecedented exclusion from the three-day Summit, which is being seen by the Tatmadaw as an attempt to downgrade Myanmar's participation. As per AP, Myanmar informed Brunei, the chair for the summit, that it will only accept participation by the general who heads Naypyidaw and the military council. It is to be noted that the conference is being held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns.

ASEAN to call on Myanmar junta to uphold commitment to five-point accord

The ASEAN leaders have decided to call on the Myanmar junta to uphold its commitment to a five-point accord that was reached by the bloc in the April Summit, Kyodo News reported. Notably, the said summit was attended by General Min Hlaing where they signed a contingency plan to allow mediatory dialogues and called for an immediate end to violence in the country.

However, on October 15, the ASEAN foreign ministers expelled Myanmar for General Hlaing's failure to commit to the April agreement that includes ceasing hostilities, opening mediator talks, enabling humanitarian aid, and offering unrestricted entry of special envoys to Myanmar.

With the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, ASEAN was forced to shift from its bedrock principle of non-interference in bloc member's internal matters. Since the Myanmar military coup, the regional organisation has been instrumental in trying to curb the increasing violence and political instability in the country. So far, 1,200 people have reportedly been killed by security forces.

(Image: AP/Representative)