Myanmar showcases reforms at diplomatic debut

Myanmar parades its once-isolated capital to international leaders this weekend, hosting a landmark summit of Southeast Asia's regional bloc as reforms see the country strut onto the world stage. The long-cloistered country's debut as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) presents the diplomatic newcomer with a delicate challenge amid soaring maritime tensions between members Vietnam and the Philippines and an increasingly assertive China. Leaders began arriving on the eve of the Sunday summit as foreign ministers worked on drafting a unified statement on recent incidents in the South China Sea that have stoked international concern, according to AFP.