Pelosi Taiwan Visit Set to Dominate ASEAN Meet

Myanmar itself will not be represented at the meeting after the other members said they would not accept a junta minister and the generals refused to send another official instead.

Some member states, led by Malaysia and the Philippines, are pushing to bar the military regime from sending ministers to any ASEAN meetings -- including November’s summit -- until there is progress on the five-point plan.

South China Sea

In addition to Taiwan, the ongoing South China Sea tensions will be another hot-button issue on the agenda.

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Beijing claims most of the sea -- with competing territorial assertions from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Cambodia -- a key Beijing ally -- last hosted ASEAN in 2012 and was accused of siding with China over the disputed and resource-rich waters, resulting in no communique being issued.

But based on the progress of a senior officials’ meeting, Kung Phoak said he was confident a consensus could be reached and a joint statement released.

“I’m confident things are moving in the right direction. We’re almost there,” he said Tuesday, Aug. 2.

Alongside Blinken and Wang, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov -- who landed in Myanmar for talks with the junta before traveling on to Cambodia -- and the European Union’s Josep Borrell will attend meetings with ASEAN counterparts later in the week.

Ministers are expected to grapple with issues ranging from the Russian-Ukraine conflict to North Korea missile tests and regional security concerns.

Source: Agence France-Presse