ASEAN-China Summit Held Without Myanmar, Says Malaysia.
KUALA LUMPUR: A summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held on Monday without a Myanmar representative, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said on Monday (November 22).
As of Sunday, ASEAN countries that exclude Myanmar have agreed with China that Myanmar’s envoy to Beijing will attend, Saifuddin said. Authorities in Myanmar had no immediate comment on the absence and a spokesperson could not be immediately reached.
ASEAN flagged Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who has led a bloody crackdown on dissent since taking power on February 1, from virtual summits in October for his inability to advance the implementation of a peace plan agreed, in an unprecedented exclusion for the bloc.
Myanmar refused to send a lower representation and blamed ASEAN for departing from its principle of non-interference and yielding to Western pressure.
CHINA DOES NOT SEEK HEGEMONY: XI
Monday’s China-ASEAN virtual summit, which was held to celebrate 30 years of dialogue, would help regional peace, stability, and development, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, according to Chinese state media.
At the summit, Xi reportedly told ASEAN leaders that Beijing would not coerce its smaller regional neighbors.
China will never seek hegemony or use its size to “intimidate” smaller countries, and will work with ASEAN to eliminate “interference,” Xi said.
“China was, is and always will be a good neighbor, a good friend and a good partner of ASEAN,” state media quoted Xi as saying.