Why No Major World Power Wants Asean to Split Up Over Myanmar
- Southeast Asian bloc divided over engaging with coup leaders
- Fissure in group risks destablizing Cold War-era battleground
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As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations grapples with its biggest rift in years over how to treat Myanmar’s military regime, one thing is clear: Nobody actually wants the bloc to expel the generals.
Cambodia, which holds Asean’s rotating chairmanship, delayed a meeting of the group’s top diplomats this week as divisions emerged following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar earlier this month. On that trip, the Cambodian leader invited Myanmar’s foreign minister to participate in official meetings and met with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, whom Asean last year barred from a regional summit.