Cambodia ASEAN chairmanship 2022

The comments came a day after an ASEAN joint communique lamented the "lack of progress" in resolving the country's political crisis.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's comments came against a backdrop of high regional tensions, following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

In the annual statement, the bloc's 10 member states laid out their consensus positions on the conflicts in Ukraine and Myanmar, among other issues.

Dili has been told that membership could happen next year.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said that the bloc had never been "confronted at the same time with so many perils for the region and the world at large."

This week's meetings come amid a host of regional and global crises that are testing the effectiveness of the Southeast Asian bloc.

The killings demonstrate the regime’s contempt for regional and global opinion. Could they force ASEAN to change its approach to the country’s conflict?

The informal gathering took place without the involvement of the junta's appointed foreign minister, but a path forward on the crisis is hard to see.

The decision came after Cambodia, ASEAN's current chair, announced that the junta would only be permitted to send a "non-political" representative.

Cambodia’s embarrassment can only further isolate Myanmar’s military junta.

But there are good reasons to think this concession will serve the military administration's broader goals.