South-east Asian govern-ments yesterday abandoned attempts to censure Burma publicly for its human rights abuses, with officials admitting in private that they could not take effective action against Burma's military regime without the support of China.

Leaders of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations ended their annual summit in Laos with a declaration that made no reference to Burma, despite earlier promises that they would ask the junta "hard questions" about its stalled plans for democratisation.