(From left) Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, Brunei’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof, Laos’ Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi shake hands as they pose for a family picture during the opening ceremony for the 55th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phnom Penh, on August 3, 2022. (AFP/Than Chinn Sothy)
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ASEAN celebrated its 55th anniversary on Monday in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh,  amid “a time of great upheaval” as Indonesia braces itself for its upcoming role as the group’s chairman next year.

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The 10-nation bloc, established in 1967 in Bangkok, has recently had its share of troubles with the ongoing superpower rivalry and the crisis in Myanmar.

Just last week at its Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM), the group had to resort to an uncharacteristic strategy of calibrating warnings to Naypyidaw that it was open to making moves without Myanmar’s vote if no progress vis-a-vis the Five-Point Consensus peace initiative has been made by November.

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Heated internal debates among the nations concerning the idea of suspending the military-led country from future conferences were also reported to have taken place.

In his opening remarks at the commencement of the AMM, Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, which chairs ASEAN this year, noted that the “association has never before been confronted at the same time with so many perils”.

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Read Full Story | Click to read:  https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/2022/08/09/asean-marks-55th-year-while-ri-gears-up-for-chairmanship.html.

Yvette Tanamal
The Jakarta Post
Wed, August 10, 2022

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