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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei: Myanmar stays an “integral half” of Southeast Asia’s regional bloc, member Brunei insisted Thursday, regardless of the coup-hit nation boycotting annual talks in protest at a ban on its junta chief.

The disaster in Myanmar, which continues to be in chaos following February’s army takeover and subsequent lethal crackdown, dominated this week’s digital summit of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The bloc determined to exclude junta chief Min Aung Hlaing after his regime refused to permit ASEAN’s particular envoy to satisfy ousted civilian chief Aung San Suu Kyi.

It was an unprecedented snub from a company lengthy accused of being toothless, and infuriated the junta — which rejected an invitation to ship a senior official to the assembly in his place.

ASEAN is going through calls to go additional by suspending and even expelling Myanmar however Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, the summit host, as a substitute sought to ease tensions.

“Myanmar is an integral a part of the ASEAN household, and their membership has not been questioned,” he advised a press convention.

“ASEAN will at all times be there for Myanmar.”

Nonetheless, he added that the 10-member group hopes “Myanmar will return to normalcy, in accordance with the desire of its individuals.”

Saifuddin Abdullah, the overseas minister of member state Malaysia, hinted the junta could possibly be barred from additional conferences of the bloc.

Requested if Myanmar will be part of future talks, he responded: “That may be a million greenback query which I can’t reply now.”

“We’d need to take a look at the implementation of the ‘five-point consensus’,” he added, referring to a roadmap to revive peace drawn up by ASEAN.

The bloc appointed its particular envoy for Myanmar, Brunei’s Second Overseas Minister Erywan Yusof, in August after months of wrangling.

However he’s but to go to the nation after the regime’s refusal to permit him to satisfy Suu Kyi, who’s going through a raft of fees in a junta courtroom and could possibly be jailed for many years.