Blinken to join 5 ASEAN ministerial meetings, to discuss regional issues & Myanmar crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will join the five online ministerial meetings within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The US Department of State said that Blinken would discuss regional and international issues with leaders from across the Indo-Pacific region. The department said in a statement,

"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will participate in five virtual ministerial meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from August 2-6 EDT. These will be the U.S.-ASEAN, East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Mekong U.S. Partnership, and Friends of the Mekong ministerial meetings.

Other issues to be discussed by Blinken

Apart from regional and international issues, it is expected that Blinken will also discuss the situation in Myanmar and the climate crisis across the world. The statement stated that Blinken will urge ASEAN to try to convince the country's military to put a full stop to violence and release all the people who were unjustly arrested. Further, he stated that he would request the military to "restore Burma's path to democracy." Myanmar's humanitarian situation has deteriorated after the military seized control of the country. Demonstrators protested in several parts of the country and the military killed hundreds of civilians including children. 

The killings of civilians had drawn international condemnation, with multiple diplomatic missions to Myanmar releasing statements which mentioned that killings also included children. In a joint statement, the Chiefs of Defence from Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom condemned the military-sponsored violence and use of lethal force against unarmed civilians. They called out the army in Burma to follow international standards of military professionalism.  

The US department informed, "the secretary will also raise the importance of taking bold action to address the climate crisis. He will reiterate that the United States stands with the international community in defence of freedom of the seas and international laws, including The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)." Recently, a group of scientists recalled the warning given earlier for the global climate crisis on Earth and stated that urgent actions should be taken to address the root cause.

(With ANI inputs)

(IMAGE: ANI)