Myanmar president pulls out

MYANMAR’S outgoing President Thein Sein has cancelled at the last minute his planned attendance at the US-Asean Summit at a Californian resort early next week, intensifying speculation over a power trade-off in a country currently undergoing a major political transition following last year’s election.

The Myanmar President Office’s Facebook page said Vice President Nyan Tun would now be going to the US on behalf of the president. 

“President Thein Sein is not visiting the US because he has other business to attend to, that’s all we can say,” Zaw Htay, a senior official at the President’s Office, told Reuters when contacted by phone.

While no official delegation from the Myanmar side had been formally announced, experts expected the trip to be Thein Sein’s last chance to highlight his reformist legacy in front of President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders.

Thein Sein’s Union Solidarity and Development Party was crushed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in the November election, kicking off a lengthy transition process that culminates on April 1 when the new government’s term begins. However, the Myanmar president is not the lone lame-duck leader in Asean.

Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong stepped down from a key position in the ruling party at the party’s congress last month, as did Premier Nguyen Tan Dung at his party’s congress in Vietnam.

Stepping down from the inner circle in their communist parties suggested that both countries’ premiers would not retain their positions in government after elections a few months from now.

However, Thongsing needs to attend the summit, as Laos this year holds the chairmanship of the 10-member Asean grouping.

Thein Sein’s decision will likely intensify already frantic speculation over the state of behind-the-scenes negotiations in Nay Pyi Taw. The Myanmar parliament decided on Monday to begin its election process for the new president on March 17, pushing back the NLD’s original plans by about three weeks and suggesting that talks between the party and the military have hit a snag.

 

Najib and Thongsing to speak 

It is widely expected that the military, which holds 25 per cent of the seats in parliament and has veto power in the administration, might allow suspension of article 59 (f) of the constitution to allow Aung San Suu Kyi – who is prohibited from taking up the presidency by the article due to her children’s foreign nationality – to be in the running for president.

Leaders from the 10 Asean member states are scheduled to meet with Obama at the Sunnylands resort in California on Monday and Tuesday to discuss continuation of the US-Asean strategic partnership and the US rebalancing of Asia policy. They will cover wide-ranging issues in regard to cooperation on economic and security matters.

While many other leaders are still preparing for their trip to the US, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong arrived in the US on Thursday for a working visit prior to the summit.

Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha leaves Bangkok tomorrow for the summit. A Thai Foreign Ministry source said he is expected to have an informal meeting with the US president as well as other Asean leaders. 

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been accorded the honour of addressing the US-Asean Leaders’ Summit during the opening ceremony on Monday, according to Malaysian media.

Malaysia’s ambassador to the US, Awang Adek Hussin, said on Thursday that Kuala Lumpur had been given the honour due to its role as coordinating country for US-Asean relations for the 2015-2018 period. Obama is also scheduled to make opening remarks, along with Thongsing, as Laos is the current chair of Asean.

The controversial security issue of conflict in the South China Sea will be a hot topic at the summit, while the Trans-Pacific Partnership is among economic issues to be discussed by leaders in respect of its impact on the regional economy.

While the issue of human rights would be raised by the US president with Asean leaders, a US diplomat stressed earlier that no country would be singled out for poor human-rights practices.

Meanwhile, the Thai Foreign Ministry said the summit would be divided into three sessions.

First, leaders will discuss economic matters under the theme, “Promoting Regional Prosperity through Innovation and Entrepreneurship”.

Second, regional cooperation will be discussed under the theme of “Regional Strategic Outlook”.

Third, security will be discussed under the theme of “Protecting Peace, Prosperity and Security in the Asia-Pacific.”