As Asean mulls options on Myanmar, don't lose sight of shifting military balance in country: ST analysis

Visiting Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin in Bagan, Myanmar, July 3, 2022. - Xinhua

BANGKOK (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has been shut out of Asean summits since he staged a military coup last year and declared himself prime minister.

Questions are looming larger these days over whether he will continue to be barred, or if it even matters anymore, with China's foreign minister Wang Yi (pic) giving a not-too-subtle nod to the junta with his first trip to Myanmar since the coup.