Abstract
The ASEAN Chairmanship rotates among Member States in English alphabetical order. After Vietnam in 2010, normally it would have been the turn of Brunei Darussalam to chair ASEAN in 2011. Indonesia had asked and Brunei Darussalam as well as the rest in ASEAN agreed to let Indonesia take the turn of Brunei Darussalam in 2011. Indonesia’s main reason was that if it were to wait for its normal turn, which would come in 2013 after Cambodia in 2012, it would be saddled with double responsibilities of chairing ASEAN and APEC in the same year in 2013.
Myanmar had also swapped its turn in chairing ASEAN in 2016 with Laos in 2014. Myanmar wanted to secure the opportunity for the current elected government to showcase itself in the international community before its term ends in 2015. Laos had no problem waiting until 2016, and the rest in ASEAN was supportive, especially in the light of the positive political changes in Myanmar under the leadership of President Thein Sein.
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