ASEAN Myanmar

Despite the many political obstacles, an ASEAN-led option seems like the best of the bad options available.

The leaders of eight Southeast Asian nations, including Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, are confirmed attendees at the meeting.

At this weekend's summit, Southeast Asian leaders need to take a firm and principled stance.

After weeks of planning, the long-promised emergency meeting on the crisis in Myanmar finally has a date.

But a negotiated solution to the political crisis is growing more difficult with every passing week.

The call signifies an awareness among some ASEAN nations that the bloc needs to take the lead on efforts to resolve the Myanmar crisis.

The comments from Hadi Tjahjanto came as ASEAN parliamentarians called for the bloc to take a tougher line on the military junta.

The results were predictably lackluster, but it's too early to write off ASEAN's efforts on Myanmar.

The Southeast Asian bloc is being asked to prove its diplomatic mettle in a fast-moving and increasingly volatile crisis.

Jakarta's call for dialogue would legitimize the Myanmar junta, but is the most realistic option for resolving the country's crisis.

The mooted plan would involve holding the junta to its plan of holding free and inclusive elections in a year's time.