The EU and ASEAN will discuss the expansion of ties between the blocs to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the region, Japanese news agency Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday, citing an EU official. The two blocs had held joint summits previously but at the levels of chief and senior officials.
However, an EU official told the media that leaders of member countries will take part in the upcoming summit. The official added that the EU would try to prevent Southeast Asian countries from aligning closer to China and Russia.
Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing is unlikely to join the summit, given the country's complicated ties with the EU and ASEAN due to a military takeover in February 2021, according to the report.
In February 2021, the military grabbed power in Myanmar using a constitutional mechanism of transferring powers in an emergency situation. The military arrested government officials, accusing them of rigging the general election, and later appointed a new administration. The military's actions spurred major civil unrest, which has resulted in over 1,600 casualties, with over 12,000 people arrested and 500,000 people internally displaced.
Many Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, do not recognize the incumbent military government in Myanmar and are demanding that the country be returned to civilian rule. Myanmar has been facing Western economic sanctions since the takeover.