Hun Sen seeks peace pledge from Myanmar junta leader to attend ASEAN summit

27 January 2022
Hun Sen seeks peace pledge from Myanmar junta leader to attend ASEAN summit
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen walks into a National Assembly meeting in Phnom Penh. Photo: AFP

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday confirmed he had invited Myanmar's junta chief to a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), on the condition he makes progress on a peace plan he agreed to last year, Reuters reports.

ASEAN chairman Hun Sen said he would talk to military chief Min Aung Hlaing by video on Wednesday, noting that since their January 7 meeting in Myanmar, ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been sentenced to four years' detention and military aircraft had been deployed in operations.

Min Aung Hlaing was blocked from attending the October ASEAN summit over his failure to follow a five-point consensus agreed by ASEAN that included ending fighting and allowing dialogue with “all parties”.

"He (Hun Sen) said that he had invited HE (His Excellency) Min Aung Hlaing to attend the ASEAN summit if there was progress in the implementation of the five points agreed unanimously," said a statement on Hun Sen's Facebook page, summarising a call with Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the report says. "But if not, he must send a non-political representative to ASEAN meetings."