Cambodian PM's embrace of Myanmar military rulers splits ASEAN

Hun Sen's sympathy with Min Aung Hlaing undercuts group's world standing

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, and Myanmar's Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, right, pose for photographs before holding a meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Jan. 7. (An Khoun SamAun/National Television of Cambodia via AP)

TORU TAKAHASHI, Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Headquarters for Asia

January 31, 2022 13:16 JST

BANGKOK -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is experiencing an embarrassing internal rift over the first big event on its diplomatic calendar of the year.

Cambodia's Foreign Ministry had scheduled an ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia, known as the gateway to Angkor Wat, for Jan. 18-19. But just a few days before the meeting, the ministry said it had been postponed. It did not initially say when the meeting would be held, but finally announced on Saturday that it had been rescheduled for Feb. 16-17.