Asia News Network

Cambodia’s top diplomat announces Asean retreat dates, Myanmar trip

The Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, initially scheduled for January 18-19, will now be held on February 16-17.

Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing reassured Hun Sen that Myanmar is committed to working with Cambodia to ensure a successful year.

Cambodia has indicated it wants to engage the junta, but Hun Sen has been pressed by several leaders not to yield on the agreement.

The junta is still struggling to break resistance to its rule, with "People's Defence Forces" (PDF) clashing regularly with its troops in many areas.

Asean had agreed to the five-point consensus (5PC) during a virtual meeting on April 24 last year.

He made the remark during a call with Indonesia's Joko Widodo to move Asean forward and exploring ways to address the Myanmar crisis.

Jokowi noted just days after Hun Sen’s visit, Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to another four years in prison.

Hun Sen also said the trip had directly and indirectly achieved some tangible results, listing “a halt to violence” and “an extended ceasefire”.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since Feb 1, 2021, when the military declared a one-year state of emergency.

Both sides agreed that the crisis could not be resolved immediately and that a solution to the conflict must be led by Myanmar itself.