Political tensions simmer at ASEAN
 |  Nyan Win will meet Thaksin during the ASEAN summit. |
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|  VIDEO | CNN's Aneesh Raman reports on preparations for the ASEAN summit
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(CNN) -- The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) opens its summit in Laos today, as political issues simmering beneath the surface begin to generate heat at the annual event.
The political situation in Myanmar has been given early prominence by Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who will meet Myanmar's Foreign Minister Nyan Win on Tuesday for a working breakfast, Reuters reports.
Thaksin wants ASEAN leaders to address the lack of progress in political reform by Yangon -- a continual source of embarrassment for the association, officials said.
"Prime Minister Thaksin will suggest at the summit that ASEAN leaders should have an informal discussion on Myanmar to learn about the latest situation there ... But that request would need to be agreed upon by Myanmar," Reuters reported chief Thai spokesman Jakrapob Penkair as saying.
Many of ASEAN's other members -- including Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines -- have criticized some of Myanmar's actions, especially the detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Discussion of internal political issues among ASEAN members is a touchy subject with leaders generally confining themselves to less contentious economic and trade issues.
Last week, Thaksin had threatened to walk out of the ASEAN summit if the issue of Muslim unrest in Thailand's south was raised.
The leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries will be joined by counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand for the two-day summit.
It is the first time Australia and New Zealand have been invited to the event.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard will be pushing ASEAN to begin moves towards setting up a free-trade between its members and Australia.
Howard will also come under pressure from some ASEAN members to sign up to a "treaty of amity and co-operation", something which Canberra is resisting, possibly to the detriment of the free-trade push.
On other trade issues, Reuters reports China seems in no hurry to reform the yuan, after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday Beijing was not interested in a currency overhaul until the country's economy and financial systems were stable.
Wen added that Beijing was concerned over the recent slide of the U.S. dollar.
"Today, we actually have to ask a question. The U.S. dollar is depreciating, with no attempts to manage it. What is the reason for this? Shouldn't the relevant parties take measures?" Wen said.
The ASEAN summit is the biggest international event to be hosted by Laos, an impoverished socialist country of five million people.
