Myanmar's military government intends to send a senior official as a nonpolitical representative to a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos, diplomatic sources say.
Leaders of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to agree on expanding their relations in the economic and security fields at a summit to commemorate 50 years of their friendship and cooperation.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which will hold a summit with Japan in Tokyo on Sunday to mark 50 years of ties, has built relations of trust with the country and generally welcome it playing a bigger security role in the region, amid China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.