LANGKAWI, Malaysia—Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered Sunday for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc's new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar's drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
From left to right, Laos’s Foreign Affairs Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane, Myanmar’s Permanent Secretary to Asean Aung Kyaw Moe, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, Philippines’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Brunei Darussalam Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, Cambodia’s Secretary of State Kung Phoak, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono,...
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Asean must bolster unity and make economic integration a top priority amid global uncertainties and the US-China rivalry in the region. He said the second term of incoming US President Donald Trump has also raised questions on how it will shape dynamics in the region.
Asean’s peace plan and other efforts to seek a solution have been futile as Myanmar’s junta has not been compliant. Asean banned Myanmar’s military leaders from formal Asean meetings but the bloc’s non-interference policy has hampered its role. The military government plans an election this year to legitimize its rule but critics say polls are unlikely to be free or fair.
Tensions in the South China Sea, one of the world’s vital shipping lanes, are also high on the agenda Sunday following violent confrontations in the waters last year. Asean members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei along with Taiwan have overlapping claims with China, which asserts sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea.
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