Cambodia to take ‘different approaches’ to Myanmar crisis as ASEAN chair

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen did not seek to meet former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to the country this week and will take “different approaches” to the crisis there, Cambodia’s foreign minister said on Saturday.

The comments by Prak Sokhonn indicate Cambodia, this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will likely invite junta officials to ASEAN meetings - possibly starting with a foreign minister’s meeting Jan. 17. The regional grouping had last year taken the unprecedented step of excluding junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from its annual leaders’ summit.

Hun Sen, who himself seized power in a 1997 coup and has in subsequent elections been criticised over crackdowns on his political opponents, returned from Myanmar on Saturday after a two-day trip. His visit was the first by a head of government since the army overthrew the civilian administration of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1 last year, sparking months of protests and a bloody crackdown.