In this file photo taken on July 19, 2018, Myanmar’s Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar armed forces, arrives to pay his respects to Myanmar independence hero General Aung San and eight others assassinated in 1947, during a ceremony to mark the 71st anniversary of Martyrs’ Day in Yangon. Myanmar’s military seized power in a bloodless coup on February 1, 2021, detaining democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi as it imposed a one-year state of emergency. (Agence France-Presse/Ye Aung Thu)

.

.

Aloysius Selwas Taborat
(The Jakarta Post)

On Oct. 15, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers (AMM) met virtually to discuss preparations for the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

.

The AMM made two profound pronouncements.

.

First, that “no consensus was reached for a political representative from Myanmar to attend the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in October 2021”.

.

Second, the AMM instead decided “to invite a nonpolitical representative from Myanmar to the upcoming Summits, while noting the reservations from the Myanmar representative”.

.

These two-pronged decisions beg myriad questions rather than providing straightforward clarity.

.

For instance, Evan A. Laksmana, a political scientist, immediately asked through Twitter whether as a result of the AMM’s rulings the coming summit could be called a summit at all when one member is not politically represented.

.

Additionally, he also pondered who could be deemed a nonpolitical representative but equal to ASEAN leaders?

LOGIN TOPICS :

ASEAN Myanmar summit presence Tatmadaw charter consensus United-Nations AMM

RELATED NEWS Garuda to launch application for chartering, leasing aircraft Jokowi’s UN show US presence in South China Sea okay if it will promote peace, stability: Palace

It's only fair to share...