ASEAN offers ‘thoughts and prayers’ to the people of Ukraine – OPINION

OPINION

Issuing its first cautious statement over the invasion of Ukraine, ASEAN calls on… “all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint, to pursue dialogue through all channels, including diplomatic means to contain the situation, to prevent it from further escalation and to see peaceful resolution in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.”

No condemnation, no demands for an immediate withdrawal. They didn’t even mention the word “Russia” in their communique.

(ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union including 10 states –
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)

Individually, ASEAN states have varied from strong reaction to outright support of Russia, most somewhere in the middle.

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said the government was…