Burma closer to chairing ASEAN?

Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa is sounding positive about Burma taking the helm of ASEAN in 2014: Marty told reporters that in July, during the last foreign ministerial meeting of the 10 members of Asean, there was already an “overwhelming sense” that the group should positively consider Burma’s application to chair the group in two ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa is sounding positive about Burma taking the helm of ASEAN in 2014:

Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa is sounding positive about Burma taking the helm of ASEAN in 2014:

Marty told reporters that in July, during the last foreign ministerial meeting of the 10 members of Asean, there was already an “overwhelming sense” that the group should positively consider Burma’s application to chair the group in two years’ time.

Burma, which has a nominally civilian leadership dominated by former generals, wants to take the Asean chair in 2014, swapping with Laos, which was due to take the post in that year.

Burma previously passed up its turn in 2006. 

Alexandra Macbain argues here that Burma may be pursuing an inside-out approach to legitimizing itself, beginning with ASEAN before moving to broader international fora:

There is no small amount of regional prestige in chairing ASEAN. With its growing global clout, ASEAN also provides legitimacy to its putative head. The hopeful aspect is that 2014 when Myanmar wishes to chair the association is still a few years away, leaving it with little room in the meantime to return to its previous ways lest this prize be wrested from it (again). Myanmar is looking to ASEAN as a vehicle for legitimizing itself first within the region and then to the wider world instead of making a direct bid to normalize relations elsewhere. More so now than before, ASEAN does matter to its members as well as to the world community.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.