Indonesia’s Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto urged global powers to use their influence to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as a regional defence ministers’ meeting came to an end on Thursday (November 16).
Speaking to reporters at a news conference in Jakarta, Prabowo also said the Southeast Asia’s regional bloc ASEAN will not interfere in the internal problems of any one country. He was responding to a question about the coordinated offensive mounted by rebel groups in several parts of Myanmar.
There were no Myanmar representative present during the two-day meeting. Myanmar’s generals have been barred from high-level meetings of the 10-member ASEAN since they seized power in a 2021 coup and unleashed violence on those who challenged their takeover.
The annual meeting came as conflict rages on in the Middle East and Ukraine and tensions rise over waters in the South China Sea, where China is accused of aggression against the Philippines, which has U.S. backing and seeks to boost its military ties with Japan.
(Reuters)