China lobbies for Myanmar junta to join regional meet

A Chinese envoy has lobbied Southeast Asian nations to let Myanmar's military ruler attend a regional summit being hosted by China's president next week but has met stiff opposition, diplomatic sources said yesterday.

Myanmar's standing as a member of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been thrown into the spotlight by a February 1 coup, when its military ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking bloody turmoil.

Several Asean members, dismayed by the return of crisis and the suppression of democracy in Myanmar, have sought to press its generals by excluding them from Asean meetings.

In an unprecedented decision last month, Asean leaders blocked Myanmar's military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, from an Asean summit after he failed to honour pledges to allow an Asean envoy to meet lawmakers overthrown in the coup.

Instead, Asean leaders said a non-political figure from Myanmar should be asked to attend. In the end, Myanmar was not represented.

Four diplomatic and political sources in the region said Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore wanted Min Aung Hlaing to be banned from a November 22 China-Asean meeting being hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment but on Tuesday, its spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said China supported all parties in Myanmar in seeking political settlement through dialogue and would work with the international community on efforts to restore stability and resume democratic transformation.