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ASEAN Chair, Secretary General to Visit Myanmar
The ASEAN special meeting on Myanmar in progress in Jakarta on April 24.
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By The Irrawaddy 8 May 2021
Three weeks have elapsed since the historic special meeting of ASEAN leaders at the organization’s Jakarta-based Secretariat, and the bloc’s chair and chief now plan to have their feet on the ground in Myanmar after the end of Ramadan next week. They are scheduled to hold further talks with the military regime leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and concerned senior officials.
The visit comes amid growing calls for more assertive ASEAN action in implementing the five-point consensus agreed in Jakarta on April 24. Some critics have interpreted the lack of immediate tangible action as the bloc’s effort to buy time for the military regime.
US Calls on North Korea to Engage Diplomatically
Voice of America
04 May 2021, 06:05 GMT+10
The United States said it is ready to engage diplomatically with Pyongyang to achieve the ultimate goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, following the completion of a months-long U.S. policy review on North Korea. What we have now is a policy that calls for a calibrated practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with North Korea, to try to make practical progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies and our deployed forces, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday during a virtual joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in London.
05/03/2021 11:09 AM EDT
Office of the Spokesperson
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Bruneian Foreign Minister II Dato Erywan Yusof on the margins of the G7 Foreign Ministerial in London. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister II Erywan reaffirmed our countriesâ longstanding friendship and cooperation and discussed issues of shared concern and priority, including economic ties, regional security, and human rights. The Secretary noted the United Statesâ commitment to ASEAN centrality and ASEANâs role in the regional architecture, adding that he looked forward to even greater U.S. engagement with ASEAN. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister II Erywan also discussed ASEANâs role in resolving the crisis in Burma. The Secretary thanked Foreign Minister II Erywan for Bruneiâs work as chair on this issue and urged ASEAN to hold the Burmese military junta accountable to the consensus plan.
As stated by Spokesperson Ned Price
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Bruneian Foreign Minister II Dato Erywan Yusof on the margins of the G7 Foreign Ministerial in London. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister II Erywan reaffirmed our countries’ longstanding friendship and cooperation and discussed issues of shared concern and priority, including economic ties, regional security, and human rights. The Secretary noted the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and ASEAN’s role in the regional architecture, adding that he looked forward to even greater U.S. engagement with ASEAN. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister II Erywan also discussed ASEAN’s role in resolving the crisis in Burma. The Secretary thanked Foreign Minister II Erywan for Brunei’s work as chair on this issue and urged ASEAN to hold the Burmese military junta accountable to the consensus plan.