Myanmar junta defends response to crisis amid Southeast Asian criticism

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has been quoted as telling the Chinese ambassador that Myanmar was willing to coordinate implementation of the Asean consensus. - Reuters

YANGON (Reuters): The Myanmar junta's foreign minister had defended its plan for restoring democracy, state media reported on Tuesday (June 8), after a meeting at which Southeast Asian counterparts pressed the army to implement a regional agreement meant to end turmoil.

The junta has paid little heed to demands from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to respect a "consensus" agreed in late April to end violence and hold political talks with its opponents.