Indonesia, the summit of ASEAN leaders is underway

BAJO-The annual two-day meeting of the leaders of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, opened today in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. The meeting follows the attack launched last weekend against a humanitarian convoy of the Association in Myanmar, and the crisis in that South Asian country seems destined to dominate the agenda of the meeting. Nova News reports it. The leaders of the ASEAN member countries will also discuss the crucial issue of the strategic orientation of the organization, determined to maintain a role of regional centrality and equidistance in the context of the increasingly intense rivalry between the United States and China. The meeting that opened today will not be attended by Myanmar, which is one of the ten member states of the Association, but which was essentially excluded from the work of Asean following the coup which in February 2021 led to the establishment of a military government. Tomorrow, during the second day of talks, ASEAN leaders are expected to discuss progress in implementing the five-point consensus reached by ASEAN to try to resolve the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.