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ASEAN-US meeting postponed, communications glitch cited as reason
The 10 ASEAN foreign ministers were ready to meet Tuesday morning for the first time with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was on a plane headed for the Middle East, but there was an in-flight communications glitch, they said.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concludes his first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 27, 2021.
(Agence France Presse/Carlos Barria)
A
virtual meeting between the diplomatic leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United States planned for Tuesday has been postponed for technical reasons, according to ASEAN sources.
The 10 ASEAN foreign ministers were ready to meet Tuesday morning for the first time with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was on a plane headed for the Middle East, but there was an in-flight communications glitch, they said.
No new date has been set for the meeting.
The two sides had been expected to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, US-ASEAN relations and regional and international issues including China's assertiveness in South China Sea and the latest political developments in Myanmar.
After the Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar, the US side made efforts to arrange a meeting with ASEAN, but some member countries including Myanmar has adopted a cautious stance.
Besides Myanmar, ASEAN also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Blinken headed to the Middle East on Monday in an effort to ensure that the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas holds.
