40th, 41st ASEAN summits hold in Cambodia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is holding its 40th and 41st summits in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

The two summits are usually held separately, one earlier in the year with a second meeting later in the year, but this year, both are held simultaneously.

This is the first time the association is holding the event in person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 summit, chaired by Vietnam, and the 2021 summit, chaired by Brunei, were held online.

Cambodian Prime Minister and ASEAN host Hun Sen addressed Friday’s opening ceremony with a call for vigilance and wisdom during times of economic and geopolitical turmoil.

“We are now at the most uncertain juncture; the lives of millions in our region depend on our wisdom and foresight,” said Hun Sen, who spoke after a traditional Khmer dance performance.

ASEAN, which has barred Myanmar’s junta leaders from its meetings since last year, repeated its commitment to the so-called five-point peace consensus, but some members have been pushing for a stronger stance.

Leaders from the other nine countries in the bloc – Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – were present at the summit in Phnom Penh.

After ASEAN leaders held a closed-door summit, they were joined by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and then by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in separate meetings.

Also Read: China-ASEAN summit begins without a Myanmar representative

U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are scheduled to hold discussions with the group on Saturday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also attend some meetings.

According to a statement issued after the meeting, ASEAN will stick by the five-point consensus but after “little progress” leaders concluded a need for an implementation plan to outline “concrete, practical and measurable indicators with a specific timeline.”

It also said that ASEAN would review Myanmar’s representation at all levels of meetings, though it did not include an earlier suggestion in a draft to hold talks with those deemed by the Myanmar military administration as “terrorists”.

The bloc, which has a long-standing tradition of non-interference in members’ sovereign affairs, has ruled out Western-style sanctions against Myanmar or expelling it from the 10-member group.

At a summit retreat on Friday, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos said that talks had also covered the nuclear threat from North Korea and strains in cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan, his press secretary said.

Separately at the summit, ASEAN agreed in principle to admit East Timor as the group’s 11th member.

East Timor,  Asia’s youngest democracy, started the process of accession in 2002, but only formally applied for membership in 2011.

Zainab Sa’id