Southeast Asian leaders have kicked off a summit without Myanmar’s top general, Min Aung Hlaing, who was barred from the meeting over “insufficient progress” in implementing a regional plan to end the country’s bloody political crisis.
Analysts say the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) exclusion of Min Aung Hlaing – who had toppled Myanmar’s civilian government in a February 1 coup – is the “most severe sanction” the bloc has handed down to a member state since it was established in 1967.
Made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the group is known for its non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.
Myanmar had joined the bloc in 1997.
Here’s a timeline of key…