Myanmar generals banned from ASEAN until peace plan progress

(L-R) Malaysia's Saifuddin Abdullah, the Philippines' Theresa Lazaro, Singapore's Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand's Don Pramudwinai, Vietnam's Bui Thanh Son, Cambodia’s Hun Sen and Prak Sokhonn, Indonesia's Retno Marsudi, Brunei's Erywan Yusof, Laos's Saleumxay Kommasith, and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi pose for a family picture during the opening ceremony for the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh, on August 3, 2022 [Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP]

Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to bar Myanmar’s ruling generals from the group’s meetings until they make progress on a 15-month-old plan to address the crisis triggered by the military coup.

Speaking at a press conference at the end of a series of ASEAN regional meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s foreign minister Prak Sokhonn, who is also a special envoy on Myanmar, said the generals “must act in a way that shows progress is made, then we will be able to act on a decision to show progress”.