Ong Keng Yong, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the group had managed to contain the Myanmar issue within the country's boundaries with its "constructive engagement" policy.

"Speaking as the ASEAN Secretary-General, I am not talking about the right or wrong of the institutions in Myanmar, but what is important is for everyone to understand the complexities of Myanmar," Ong told AFP in an interview ahead of a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers.

Reacting to a barrage of criticism levelled at ASEAN for what some have called its failure to restore democracy in Myanmar, he said: "The situation there should not be allowed to develop into a ugly confrontation that will destabilise the situation in Southeast Asia."

Citing the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, Ong said military-ruled Myanmar, with up to 10 major communities and more than 100 linguistic groups located alongside China and the South Asian continent, could flare up into "another Yugoslavia, multiplied many times over."

"We sometimes forget that this unique piece of geography called Myanmar can be a major destablising factor in the Indian ocean, not just in Southeast Asia, which is just a small part of the equation," he said.

Yangon arrested Aung San Suu Kyi after a bloody May 30 clash between supporters of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and backers of the military regime, leading to intensified criticism of the junta.