Junta snubbed: Cambodia bars SAC Defence Minister from Asean meets

In a strong snub, ASEAN Chair Cambodia has excluded Myanmar Junta Defence Minister General Mya Tun Oo from the ongoing Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Siem Reap province due to no “visible progress” in the implementation of the bloc’s peace initiative.This is the first time that Gen Tun Oo was not invited to attend an ADMM event.

Despite controversy surrounding him, he was invited to and attended the 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in Phnom Penh in June.

The Junta Defence Ministry representative Zaw Zaw Soe, the Deputy Director-General of the Ministry’s Department of International Affairs, also attended the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting (ADSOM) and ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM-Plus) in Phnom Penh in May.

However, Minister of Defence General Tea Banh had decided to invite “a non-political representative” to represent the junta at the ADMM Retreat. But as it has done for past Asean meetings, including the recent ASEAN Summits, Myanmar’s State Administration Council (SAC) refused to send “a non-political representative” to attend the one in Cambodia, leaving Myanmar’s seat vacant.

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