Phnom Penh: While 2022 is the time for Cambodia to take over the rotating ASEAN chairmanship, Prime Minister Hu Sen affirmed this Wednesday, during the inauguration of the $180 million luxury hotel Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh, he will do everything in accordance with the Constitution that ASEAN allows, not through violations.

As the chair of ASEAN, the head of the Royal Government of Cambodia has declared that it is not right to become the chair of ASEAN but not inviting ASEAN members to the full meeting, and when ASEAN members are less than 10 countries it’s not called ASEAN.

Although PM Hun Sen's proclamation seems to be broad in respect of the ASEAN Charter, he’s been also responding to criticisms of his announcement that he will invite Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing to join ASEAN summit, scheduled to be hosted by Cambodia in 2022.

"It is not possible to be ASEAN if it’s ASEAN 9, we must solve from ASEAN 9 to ASEAN 10, which is the most important thing for ASEAN," said the Prime Minister, adding: “the ASEAN chair does not like anyone to be invited in the meeting if is not called ASEAN, where is ASEAN values?" Hun Sen continued, "Some people swear at me on Facebook, it’s ok swear at me, I do what the ASEAN Charter allows me to not violate."

The ASEAN Constitution was adopted and came into force on 15 December of 2008 by a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia. The ASEAN Constitution is the cornerstone of ASEAN in the establishment of the ASEAN Community and is framed by ASEAN Laws, ASEAN Values, ASEAN's clear principles and responsibilities under ASEAN law. The ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement of the 10 ASEAN member states.

Regarding the case of Myanmar or Burma, Prime Minister of Cambodia will travel to Myanmar in early January to pave the way for the progress of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus Agreement. It comes as the invitation of the President of the State Council and the Prime Minister of Myanmar, while Cambodia will chair ASEAN in 2022.

Myanmar has been facing internal political crises and turmoil since a military coup overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's party on 1 February after the election. Democrat leader Aung San Suu Kyi and some of the party's top leaders have been detained. A Myanmar court recently sentenced her to four years in prison for inciting anti-military insurgency and violating Covid-19 measures. However, the head of Myanmar's military government has called for Aung San Suu Kyi's prison sentence to be reduced to two years.

During the internal turmoil of nearly a year, Myanmar, a young member of ASEAN, was absent from the 2021 ASEAN Summit, making it impossible for ASEAN to find its consensus. Due to the absence of Myanmar in the ASEAN Summit in 2021, Hun Sen, who just received the hammer to chair ASEAN in 2022, claimed that such a situation would not happen when Cambodia Host of the ASEAN Summit.