Cambodia mulls rescheduling ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting mid-Feb.

Cambodia is considering rescheduling the annual ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting for Feb. 16-17 following its postponement earlier this month, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

Cambodia, the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for this year, is planning to exclude the foreign minister of Myanmar from the meeting as the country’s ruling military has not stopped violence against protesters, sources close to the matter said.

Only a “nonpolitical figure” from Myanmar would be invited unless the junta shows some progress in implementing ASEAN’s so-called five-point consensus, which includes a call for an immediate end to violence and the dispatch of the group’s special envoy to meet with all stakeholders in the conflict in Myanmar, the sources said.

ASEAN adopted the consensus at its special summit in April last year in the hope of resolving issues in Myanmar where political turmoil has continued since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.

Screenshot shows representatives of the countries participating in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ emergency online meeting on Oct. 15, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Foreign Ministry of Thailand)(Kyodo)

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The foreign ministry said in a statement that the ministers of ASEAN member nations will discuss a planned visit to Myanmar by Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, the group’s special envoy to Myanmar this year, who is tasked with pushing for dialogue between all the parties in the conflict.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who said he would invite Myanmar’s foreign minister to the meeting, met opposition from Indonesia, Malaysia and some other member countries who insist Myanmar should only be represented by nonpolitical people at ASEAN meetings unless progress is made on implementing the consensus.

Cambodia originally planned to hold the meeting in the northwestern town of Siem Reap on Jan. 18-19 but it was postponed after some members said they were having difficulties in attending. It is now mulling to use a hybrid format of online participation and in-person meetings, the sources said.