Ukraine peace summit: Asean divided over attendance amid fears of ‘missing the boat’

Zelensky added he would judge the success of his trip to Singapore on the “presence of representatives from Asia” at the coming talks, hosted by Switzerland at the request of the Ukrainian leader.

The summit is aimed at building on Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan, key elements of which call for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science and international relations professor at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, said there were two major factors for Southeast Asian countries to consider regarding attendance at the summit.

Firstly, the event was intended to be “pro-Ukraine and not pro-Russia” and the other consideration was the desire of some countries “not to miss the boat and to be counted at a major gathering like this peace summit”, Pongsudhirak said.

Pongsudhirak noted that summit attendee Singapore had imposed sanctions against Russia, while East Timor was likely to use the event to “bolster its reputation” ahead of its prospective membership in Asean.

Thailand’s planned attendance at the summit was aimed at regaining its international standing after a new civilian government took over following years of military rule, Pongsudhirak said.

Malaysia has also called for strong measures against Myanmar’s generals, saying that the junta had blocked a plan to restore peace since it seized power in February 2021 from the country’s elected civilian leaders.

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China urged to help end Ukraine war by President Volodymyr Zelensky at Shangri-La Dialogue

Hoo Chiew Ping, co-founder of the East Asian International Relations Caucus and visiting scholar at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, said the participation of Southeast Asian countries at the