Crisis highlights toothless nature of Asean

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The Southeast Asian grouping known as Asean has made a point of not pressuring member nations over internal issues such as rights abuses, and in the case of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority, the policy has come back to haunt it. Three other Asean nations Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand now must contend with a humanitarian crisis involving Rohingya and Bangladeshis stranded off their shores. After years of ignoring the issue, their chances of using diplomacy to achieve any change in Myanmar’s behavior is bleak.    

Daily Pioneer
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