ASEAN running out of time to recast role as buffer in US-China great power competition

China Premier Li Keqiang attends Southeast Asian leaders virtual summit Tuesday October 26, 2021 without Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing after its top general failure of Myanmar's army to adhere to a peace road map it had agreed with the southeast Asian bloc following the coup in February. The exclusion of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was an embarrassment for Myanmar's military and the harshest rebuke by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and took over the government on February 1. During the meeting on Tuesday Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah said he welcomed the inclusion of Britain as the first new dialogue partner of ASEAN in over two decades. There were three separate meetings between the ASEAN leaders and leaders of the United States, China, and South Korea.

Following the latest incident in the South China Sea, in which Chinese coastguard vessels blocked and water-cannoned Philippine ships carrying resupplies to Second Thomas Shoal, the silence of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) stood as a glaring but not surprising contrast to the quick responses from the United States and the European Union. Coordinating a concerted … Continue reading ASEAN running out of time to recast role as buffer in US-China great power competition