(Bloomberg) -- The White House is considering placing an empty chair at this week’s ASEAN meetings in Washington to protest on behalf of the exiled Myanmar government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

The US has been discussing ways to signal dissatisfaction with the military coup that toppled the Aung San Suu Kyi-led civilian government, according to the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the summit preparations. 

The US believes initial steps taken by ASEAN following the 2021 military takeover have stalled and hopes to use this week’s summit to discuss new measures to pressure the junta, the official said.

The US invited a nonpolitical representative of Myanmar to the summit but the country declined that option, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier Wednesday.

The summit will begin Thursday, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will host leaders from southeast Asia on Capitol Hill for a working lunch. Their schedule also includes a meeting Thursday afternoon with US corporate executives and a dinner at the White House hosted by President Joe Biden.

The summit will extend into Friday, including a meeting at the State Department to discuss maritime cooperation and the coronavirus pandemic, and a separate session on the impact of climate change. The White House also intends to discuss efforts to pressure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

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