SINGAPORE: Singapore’s leader said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should continue excluding Myanmar’s junta from its meeting until it cooperates on an agreed peace plans.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a video call on Friday urged the regional group’s new chair, Cambodia, to engage all sides in Myanmar’s conflict, Singapore’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Lee told his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen that ASEAN should continue inviting a non-political representative from Myanmar to its meetings and any decision to change that “had to be based on new facts.”
His remarks follow a controversial visit last week by Hun Sen to Myanmar, where he met Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government whom ASEAN excluded from its leaders’ summit for his failure to implement the five-point plan to end hostilities and allow dialogue after a coup last year.
Malaysia’s foreign minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, made similar comments on Thursday, saying some ASEAN members felt Hun Sen should have discussed his trip with fellow leaders beforehand, as it could be seen as recognizing the junta.
Lee told Hun Sen any engagement with Myanmar needed to include “all parties concerned,” including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted ruling party.
The Singapore leader said that despite Myanmar’s peace commitments, the military has made further attacks against its political opponents and imposed further prison sentences on Suu Kyi.
Hun Sen made some proposals to Lee on how to coordinate a cease-fire in Myanmar and deliver humanitarian assistance, according to the statement. Lee responded these could be complicated because there had been no access to all parties, although Singapore did not object to the idea in principle.
All of Cambodia’s proposals, as ASEAN chair, should be further discussed among ASEAN foreign ministers, Lee said, according to the statement.
“Prime Minister Lee hoped that Cambodia would consider his views and those of other ASEAN leaders,” it said.
Cambodia on Wednesday postponed the inaugural meeting of its ASEAN chairmanship, scheduled for next week, because some foreign ministers had expressed “difficulties” in attending.
Lee’s remarks also come days after Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said on his Facebook page that Singapore backed Cambodia’s approach on the Myanmar crisis.
Singapore PM backs continued exclusion of Myanmar junta from ASEAN meetings
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Singapore PM backs continued exclusion of Myanmar junta from ASEAN meetings
- Malaysia’s foreign minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, made similar comments on Thursday
35 million Nigerians ‘risk hunger after global funding collapse’
- The UN can only aim to deliver $516 million to provide lifesaving aid to 2.5 million people this year, down from 3.6 million in 2025, which in turn was about half the previous year’s level
ABUJA: Nearly 35 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger this year, including 3 million children facing severe malnutrition, the UN said, following the collapse of global aid budgets.
Speaking at the launch of the 2026 humanitarian plan in Abuja, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohammed Malick Fall said the long-dominant, foreign-led aid model in Nigeria is no longer sustainable and that Nigeria’s needs have grown.
Conditions in the conflict-hit northeast are dire, Fall said, with civilians in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states facing rising violence.
BACKGROUND
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohammed Malick Fall said the foreign-led aid model in Nigeria is no longer sustainable and that the country’s needs have grown.
A surge in terror attacks killed more than 4,000 people in the first eight months of 2025, matching the toll for all of 2023, he said.
The UN can only aim to deliver $516 million to provide lifesaving aid to 2.5 million people this year, down from 3.6 million in 2025, which in turn was about half the previous year’s level.
“These are not statistics. These numbers represent lives, futures, and Nigerians,” Fall said.
He also said the UN had no choice but to focus on “the most lifesaving” interventions given the drop in available funding.
Shortfalls last year led the World Food Programme to also warn that millions could go hungry in Nigeria as its resources ran out in December and it was forced to cut support for more than 300,000 children.
Fall said Nigeria was showing growing national ownership of the crisis response in recent months through measures such as local funding for lean-season food support and early-warning action on flooding.
