Cambodia's Foreign Minister and chair of ASEAN, Hor Namhong, said in a statement on Friday that he and his counterparts can lend “necessary support in addressing the humanitarian assistance” in Myanmar’s state of Rakhine, where sectarian clashes have displaced thousands and killed at least 80 since May.

The statement coincided with Myanmar President Thein Sein’s announcement, about two months after the fighting erupted, that he was forming a commission to investigate the clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.

Namhong also said that ASEAN foreign ministers expressed that “harmony among the various communities in Myanmar constitute an integral part of Myanmar’s ongoing democratisation and reform process’’.

Thein Sein, who has introduced reforms since taking over last year after decades of military rule, has referred to the clashes as an internal affair.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vong Sokheng at [email protected]