Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha won’t attend Asean summit to discuss Myanmar crisis
- Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing has been invited to the summit in Jakarta while Thailand will now be represented by its deputy PM and foreign minister
- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore have sought to ramp up pressure on the junta, which ousted the civilian government on February 1
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he would not be attending and that Thailand would be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai, who is also foreign minister.
“Some other countries will also send their foreign ministers,” Prayuth, a former army chief who led a coup in Thailand in 2014, told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.
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Anti-coup protesters turn out in support of Myanmar’s new National Unity Government
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been trying to find a way to guide fellow member Myanmar out of the bloody turmoil that it descended into after the military overthrew an elected government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, on February 1.
But there have been divergent views among Asean members over how to respond to the army’s use of lethal force against civilians and the group’s policies of consensus and non-interference in each others’ affairs have limited its ability to act.
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore have sought to ramp up pressure on the junta. Thailand, Myanmar’s neighbour, has said it is “gravely concerned” about escalating bloodshed but close military ties and fears of a flood of refugees mean it is unlikely to go further.
