• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Tech
Myanmar tops Asian summit’s agenda as global issues loom

Myanmar tops Asian summit’s agenda as global issues loom

November 9, 2022
I’m a non-smoker at last! Why you should give up smoking too

I’m a non-smoker at last! Why you should give up smoking too

June 1, 2023
A U.S. ambassador calls out South Africa on Russia, and gets burned

A U.S. ambassador calls out South Africa on Russia, and gets burned

June 1, 2023
Is Money Actually Real? And Other Debt Ceiling Questions

Is Money Actually Real? And Other Debt Ceiling Questions.

June 1, 2023
Homes for sale are in short supply. Here’s where inventory has dropped the most.

Homes for sale are in short supply. Here’s where inventory has dropped the most.

June 1, 2023
The Justice Department’s Pro-Abortion Bias Threatens Civil Liberties

The Justice Department’s Pro-Abortion Bias Threatens Civil Liberties

June 1, 2023
3 teens arrested after killing and eating New York village’s prized swan, police say

3 teens arrested after killing and eating New York village’s prized swan, police say

June 1, 2023
Beverly Hills security guards save choking toddler who was ‘turning blue’ when handed to them by distressed mom

Beverly Hills security guards save choking toddler who was ‘turning blue’ when handed to them by distressed mom

June 1, 2023
A light that never goes out: why the Smiths are eternally influential

A light that never goes out: why the Smiths are eternally influential

June 1, 2023
Months of distrust inside Trump legal team led to top lawyer’s departure

Months of distrust inside Trump legal team led to top lawyer’s departure

June 1, 2023
LIV Golf Tournament Experienced Bud Light ‘Shortage’ at Trump National

LIV Golf Tournament Experienced Bud Light ‘Shortage’ at Trump National

June 1, 2023
The debt ceiling drama shifts to the Senate. Here’s what to expect

The debt ceiling drama shifts to the Senate. Here’s what to expect

June 1, 2023

Is it OK to recline your airplane seat? Some travel experts say no.

June 1, 2023
DNYUZ
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Television
    • Theater
    • Gaming
    • Sports
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
DNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home News World Asia

Myanmar tops Asian summit’s agenda as global issues loom

November 9, 2022
in Asia, Asia Pacific, Business, Europe, News, Politics
Myanmar tops Asian summit’s agenda as global issues loom
500
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

BANGKOK — Southeast Asian leaders convene in the Cambodian capital Thursday, faced with the challenge of trying to curtail escalating violence in Myanmar while the country’s military-led government shows no signs of complying with the group’s peace plan.

U.S. President Joe Biden will be on hand for the Phnom Penh summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which comes as Washington and Beijing are increasingly jockeying for influence in the Asia-Pacific region. It sets the stage for the Group of 20 meetings in Bali, Indonesia, that immediately follow and are expected to include Chinese President Xi Jinping and possibly Russian President Vladimir Putin, then the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok.

In addition to Myanmar, the four-day meetings are expected to focus on ongoing disputes in the South China Sea, pandemic recovery issues, regional trade and climate change.

Neither Xi nor Putin is expected to attend the ASEAN talks or the parallel East Asia Summit, though both China and Russia are thought to be sending high-level delegations headed by Prime Minister Li Keqiang and possibly Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Looming large over ASEAN, the G-20 and APEC are the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Russia’s consequent search for new markets for its energy resources, as well as resulting supply chain and food security issues, China’s increasingly aggressive saber-rattling over Taiwan, and rising tension in the Korean Peninsula.

By attending the ASEAN summit in person, Biden will be able to push American interests and also visibly demonstrate Washington’s renewed commitment to the region, said Thomas Daniel, an expert with Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump skipped the summits after 2017 and left the 2017 meetings early, before the plenary session of the East Asia Summit, a key regional strategic dialogue, leaving then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to stand in for him.

“For Southeast Asia it’s really important to physically show up, and I think the Americans are very aware of this,” Daniel said. “I cannot emphasize how much damage was done by the Trump administration not showing up — and it’s not just not showing up, it’s sending representatives that are seen as just further downgrades.”

ASEAN this year is elevating the U.S. to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” status — a largely symbolic enhancement of their relationship but one that puts Washington on the same level as China, which was granted the distinction last year.

Ahead of the summit, Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the talks would be an opportunity to work on a “broad range of diplomatic priorities across the region” and to focus on “carrying out everything we’ve promised rather than coming forward with another long list of new initiatives.”

“A high-level U.S. presence at these summits will demonstrate our strong and enduring commitment to the region,” he said at a late October roundtable hosted by Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“From the president to the secretary of state, throughout the entire U.S. government, we know that America’s future security and prosperity are entirely dependent on what happens in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not mention the U.S. when outlining details of Li Keqiang’s upcoming appearance, saying only that the country is “committed to its foreign policy of maintaining world peace and promoting common developments.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose country has the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, has invited Ukraine to participate in the summit and its foreign minister is expected to attend, though it has not yet been officially announced.

Hun Sen’s office said he spoke with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone at the start of the month, and that the Ukrainian leader had requested to address the summit by video, but it was not immediately clear if that had been approved.

Kritenbrink applauded the inclusion of Ukraine, and said the U.S. was working with its ASEAN friends to “ensure that Ukraine meaningfully participates and that the (East Asia Summit) partners send a strong message that big countries cannot simply take what they want from smaller neighbors.”

He added that the U.S. would talk with ASEAN nations about additional steps to put pressure on Myanmar’s regime to push it to stop the killings and move toward a democratic path.

“We are not going to sit idly by while this violence continues,” Kritenbrink said.

ASEAN, which includes Myanmar, has tried to play a peacemaking role since shortly after the country’s military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021.

At a special meeting at the end of October, the foreign ministers of ASEAN’s other members — Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei — acknowledged their efforts to bring peace hadn’t succeeded and called for “concrete, practical and time-bound actions” to support the implementation of its five-point peace plan.

It calls for the immediate cessation of violence, a dialogue among all parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all sides.

Myanmar’s government initially agreed to it but has made little effort to implement it, aside from seeking humanitarian aid and allowing ASEAN’s envoy, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, to visit. But it refused to allow him to meet with Suu Kyi, who was arrested and is being tried on a variety of charges that critics say are meant to sideline her from politics.

In response, ASEAN has not allowed Myanmar’s leaders to participate in its official meetings, and Myanmar has rejected the idea of sending non-political representation to the summit, though working-level officials have joined some pre-summit meetings.

ASEAN foreign ministers in August concluded a meeting with a joint statement criticizing Myanmar for its lack of progress, but little more, deciding to instead leave the issue for the leaders to decide in Phnom Penh.

It could be, however, that the leaders also choose to wait until Indonesia, which has taken a tougher stand on Myanmar, takes the chair of the bloc in 2023, before taking more decisive action.

“There is every chance that they might choose to delay and kick this down the road again,” Daniel, the analyst, said.

The post Myanmar tops Asian summit’s agenda as global issues loom appeared first on Associated Press.

Tags: AP Top NewsAsiaAsia PacificAssociation of Southeast Asian NationsBaliBangkokBeijingBusinessCambodiaEast AsiaEuropeG-20 SummitGlobal TradeGovernment and politicsIndonesiaJoe BidenMyanmarPhnom PenhSoutheast AsiaVladimir PutinWorld NewsXi Jinping
Share200Tweet125Share

Trending Posts

Europe sees inflation drop to 6.1%, but real relief for consumers will take months

Europe sees inflation drop to 6.1%, but real relief for consumers will take months

June 1, 2023
NATO presses Turkey to drop objections to Sweden’s membership as summit looms

NATO presses Turkey to drop objections to Sweden’s membership as summit looms

June 1, 2023
‘We Have No Days Off’: The Nonstop Work of Ukrainian Air Defenses

‘We Have No Days Off’: The Nonstop Work of Ukrainian Air Defenses

June 1, 2023
KSA’s Neom Sets Nine Project Partnership With Telfaz11 

KSA’s Neom Sets Nine Project Partnership With Telfaz11 

June 1, 2023
The Brutal Takedown of the Duggar Family’s Evangelical Crusade

The Brutal Takedown of the Duggar Family’s Evangelical Crusade

June 1, 2023
Climate Shocks Are Making Parts of America Uninsurable. It Just Got Worse.

Climate Shocks Are Making Parts of America Uninsurable. It Just Got Worse.

May 31, 2023

Copyright © 2023.

Site Navigation

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Gaming
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel

Copyright © 2023.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT