Myanmar’s future and Middle East fighting hang over ASEAN talks

Southeast Asian foreign ministers are gathering in the Philippines on Tuesday under the cloud of renewed fighting in the Middle East and a deep divide over Myanmar’s return to the diplomatic fold. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministers will huddle for days of meetings in Manila, joined by counterparts from the United States, China, Japan, Russia and numerous other countries. But it is talks over Myanmar, a member state formally excluded from such summits since its military junta seized power in 2021 and triggered a bloody civil war, that could ratchet up tension.