Myanmar’s junta welcomed senior officers of eight Southeast Asian navies to Naypyitaw this week for a regional gathering that coincided with this year’s annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Laos.
The naval leaders—mostly deputy commanders from all but one of the regional grouping’s 10 member states—arrived in the regime’s capital for the 18th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting on Wednesday, according to junta-controlled state media reports.
The one missing official was from Singapore, which has been relatively critical of the Myanmar regime since it seized power in a coup in February 2021.
Indonesia and the Philippines, which have also been outspoken about the junta’s brutal suppression of its opponents, sent military attaches.
ASEAN has attempted to spearhead international efforts to resolve the spiralling conflict in Myanmar through a five-point “consensus” reached in early 2021. However, it has made little. . .
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