ASEAN-China summit held without Myanmar – Saifuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — A summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held without a representative from Myanmar, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said.

As of Sunday, ASEAN countries excluding Myanmar had agreed with China that Myanmar’s envoy to Beijing would attend, Saifuddin said.

The reason for the non-attendance was not immediately clear, and a spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government did not answer calls seeking comment.

ASEAN sidelined Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who has led a bloody crackdown on dissent since seizing power on Feb. 1, from virtual summits last month over his failure to make inroads in implementing an agreed peace plan, in an unprecedented exclusion for the bloc.

Myanmar refused to send junior representation and blamed ASEAN for departing from its non-interference principle and caving to Western pressure.

NMT as reported by Reuters