Asean leaders join the opening session of summit in Cambodia
Leaders of Southeast Asian nations began an annual summit on Friday that is likely to be dominated by Myanmar's escalating violence and political gridlock, with increasingly frustrated members of the group struggling to get the country's junta to comply with an agreed peace plan.
Several representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have blamed Myanmar's military rulers for failing to implement a peace plan agreed jointly last year, which includes ending hostilities and allowing access for a special envoy and aid.
Asean, which has barred junta leaders from its meetings since last year, repeated last week its commitment to the so-called five-point peace consensus, but some members have been pushing for a stronger stance.
Leaders from the other nine countries in the bloc - Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - were present at the meeting in Phnom Penh.
US President Joe Biden will join the meeting on Saturday (November 12), as will Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also attend.
Reuters
