Asean appears to be losing steam on Myanmar crisis

The crisis in Myanmar was high on the agenda at the recent Special Asean-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Chongqing on Monday, but the final joint statement on the issue was somewhat of an anti-climax, appearing simply to contain diplomatic niceties. Observers noted that what was left out of the statement appears to tell a bigger story: Asean is divided over how much pressure to exert on one of its members. 

The series of events shows Asean's ineffectiveness and does not bode well for the regional grouping's future, said Asst Prof Dylan Loh of the Public Policy and Global Affairs Division at NTU. "This is a huge detriment to Asean, which has touted itself as the only organisation which has been able to reach out to the Myanmar military," he said.

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Photo: Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash