Asean stuck at a ‘crossroad’

Unwelcomed: A chair for the Myanmar delegation is left empty during the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting ahead of the 42nd Asean Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province. — Reuters

South-East Asian nations are at a “crossroad”, a senior Indonesian minister warned, as escalating violence in junta-controlled Myanmar loomed over a regional summit.

Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government more than two years ago and unleashed a bloody crackdown on dissent.