Singapore – Myanmar President Thein Sein said his government was committed to political reform and would put the stability of the country ahead of economic development, Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The president, in Singapore for a three-day official visit that began on Sunday, has overseen dramatic reforms over the past few months, including the freeing of hundreds of political prisoners, a loosening of media controls and engagement with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the fight for democracy. (more…)

It all sounds a little too fanciful. The idea of Burma as a regional role model for the treatment and release of political prisoners requires just too much of a leap in faith in the reforms that have swept that country, even after the release and pardon of more than 600 remaining dissidents.
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Siem Reap — Foreign Ministers from the 10 member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are considering a group visit to Myanmar this year to learn the latest developments there, ASEAN sources told Kyodo News on Wednesday. (more…)

Phnom Penh – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday called for Western nations to lift sanctions against Myanmar following much-lauded signs of change in the army-dominated nation.

Strict sanctions on Myanmar, enforced notably by the United States and the European Union in response to human rights abuses and for failing to free all political prisoners, have long left the country isolated. (more…)

Siem Reap, Cambodia, — Senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met here on Tuesday in a preparatory meeting ahead of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ retreat, which will be held on Jan. 11.
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Last year saw some of the biggest political developments in Southeast Asia in decades. Burma finally seemed poised for real change, while Thailand continued to move closer to the brink of self-immolation, as political in-fighting worsened. The United States, China, and Association of Southeast Asian nations continued to raise the stakes in the South China Sea, to a point where, now, it seems unlikely anyone can back off their claims and truly sit down at the table to negotiate some kind of agreement. Singapore had its most competitive election in generations, while in Malaysia massive street protests have clearly rattled the government. Even smaller states faced political turmoil: Papua New Guinea went for weeks with two prime ministers – and the potential for civil strife – before the situation was resolved. (more…)

Indonesia’s foreign minister Marty Natalegawa today met with his Burmese counterpart Wanna Maung Lwin in Rangoon and discussed procedures for the hand-over of ASEAN’s chairmanship to Burma in year 2014, according to an Indonesian official.
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Bali, Indonesia – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is promoting U.S. economic engagement with Asia during the East Asia Summit in Bali. The secretary focused her public remarks on increasing economic ties to the region. (more…)

Military-dominated Myanmar will chair Southeast Asia’s regional bloc in 2014, officials said Thursday, a decision that will likely irk the U.S. and others not yet satisfied with the country’s fledgling reforms. (more…)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should set clear human rights benchmarks for Burma as a condition for its chairmanship of the regional grouping in 2014, Human Rights Watch said today. (more…)

Nu Sa Dua, Indonesia — Myanmar on Wednesday won Southeast Asia’s backing to chair the region’s bloc in 2014, despite the United States warning it was too soon to reward the new government for fledgling reforms. (more…)

ASEAN MPs and members of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) will speak in Jakarta Monday to call on leading ASEAN delegates to place the unresolved ethnic conflict and outstanding questions on political and human rights in Myanmar high up on the agenda at the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali this week. (more…)

Bangkok — Myanmar has long been an international pariah but the country’s new regime now appears keen to break out of isolation and convert a surprising string of gestures into diplomatic victories. (more…)

Jakarta – Next week (November 14-19), leaders from 18 nations will gather in Indonesia’s island, Bali, for the sixth annual East Asia summit. The regional economic and security forum has steadily gained in importance in recent years and this year for the first time includes the leaders of the United States, Russia and China.  The host nation Indonesia has raised the profile of the summit through its consensus-building work as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (more…)

Jakarta—Countries should consider rewarding Myanmar for its recent reforms by lowering trade sanctions on the Southeast Asian nation as well as allowing it to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Tuesday. (more…)

Yangon — Myanmar should play a more active role in Asean to enable it to tackle problems arising from globalisation, said Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. (more…)

Jakarta – Support has grown for Myanmar’s potential to chair ASEAN after Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa visited the country last week. (more…)

Further democratic reform in Burma must be achieved before it can chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2014, observers have urged. (more…)

Bangkok — Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has arrived in Burma on the start of a three-day visit ahead of next month’s Asean summit in Bali where the 2014 chairmanship of the regional bloc is expected be decided. (more…)

Nay Pyi Taw – Myanmar Vice President U Tin Aung Myint Oo left here Thursday for China’s Nanning to attend the 8th Expo of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (more…)