Cambodia shelves ASEAN meet over attendance ‘difficulties’

A security person stands outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Oct 25, 2021. (Achmad Ibrahim / ap)

PHNOM PENH – Cambodia said on Wednesday it had postponed a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations scheduled for next week, because some ministers had expressed "difficulties" in attending.

The meeting was the first under Cambodia's chairmanship of the 10-member bloc, which comes amid divisions on how to deal with the military that seized power in Myanmar last year.

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"The postponement is because of many ASEAN ministers are having difficulties to travel to join," Cambodia foreign ministry spokesperson Koy Kuong told reporters, without elaborating.

Asked separately by Reuters which ministers could not attend the Jan 18-19 meeting in Siem Reap and why, Koy Kuong said he "can't speak for them".

Cambodia’s foreign minister Prak Sokhonn was expecting to be appointed special ASEAN envoy to the Myanmar situation at the Siem Reap meeting.

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