China's foreign minister cut short a visit to Laos on Wednesday, skipping a regional security forum to travel on to Myanmar. There was no immediate official explanation for the change in plans, which made Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing the fourth top diplomat to skip the annual security gathering of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and 14 other countries with interests in the region, AP reported. When asked why he was leaving early, Li quipped: «Myanmar is the only country in ASEAN that I've never visited.» Li originally was due to attend the meetings in Laos through Friday and then to pay visits to both Laos and Myanmar. He joins U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and India's foreign minister, Natawar Singh, in skipping all or part of the annual security forum.
