Myanmar’s junta government says it is being subjected to “discriminatory measures” and effectively excluded from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after a summit held last week. The government alleges that ASEAN continues to blacklist the country’s post-coup leadership, limiting their participation in regional meetings.
All reports note that ASEAN has barred Myanmar from summits since the February 2021 coup, when the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and detained her. The coup has been followed by a broader civil conflict. After roughly five years of military rule, Myanmar held an election last month that excluded Suu Kyi’s party and did not include her participation; ASEAN officials and observers have questioned its legitimacy. In the wake of that process, military chief Min Aung Hlaing takes over as civilian president under the junta’s transition.
Myanmar’s complaint frames its restricted access to ASEAN events as unfair treatment, while the other accounts describe ASEAN’s continued summit restrictions without indicating any change to ASEAN’s approach following the latest summit.
