Jakarta/Singapore | The leaders of Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia are tipped to break ranks this weekend by meeting with the United Nations’ special envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, while also negotiating with the Myanmar general who has pointedly snubbed the UN.

The trilateral gathering would be unusual, but nothing about the meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations in Jakarta on Saturday is routine. It has been triggered by a coup, it is the first in-person gathering since the pandemic, and it is an unusual mix of leaders and delegates.