YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar's ruling military on Thursday (Dec 2) slammed a United Nations decision to deny its chosen representative a seat at the world body and keep in place an envoy appointed by Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's ousted government.

The committee responsible for approving nominations of ambassadors to the New York body met on Wednesday but deferred a decision over the rival claims to Myanmar and Afghanistan's seats, diplomats said.

The deferral keeps in place envoys appointed to the body by both governments before they were toppled - by a military takeover in Myanmar in February and the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August.

"This decision does not reflect the reality on the ground and existence of our country," Myanmar ruling military spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP.

"We will continue submitting (to the UN) as usual according to diplomatic procedure and the right to representation in accordance with international and local laws," he added.

The deferral leaves Mr Kyaw Moe Tun, appointed by Ms Suu Kyi's government, in place as Myanmar's envoy.

He made headlines shortly after the putsch by flashing the three-finger salute of democracy protesters from his UN chair, brazenly defying the military government's insistence that he no longer represents the country.

In August, US prosecutors said they had charged two Myanmar citizens in a plot to attack him.

The ruling miliary has denied any involvement and chose former soldier Aung Thurein as its envoy to the body.

The Taliban in September asked the UN to accept its former Doha-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen to succeed Mr Ghulam Isaczai, a Cabinet member of ousted President Ashraf Ghani.

Mr Isaczai continues to occupy Afghanistan's offices at the UN headquarters and even participated in a recent Security Council meeting in which he openly criticised the Taliban.

There was "consensus" within the credentials committee to delay the decision, two diplomats told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"China, Russia and the United States were in the same position," one of them said.

The nine-member committee is due to submit its report next week to the General Assembly, which will be left to decide via a possible vote if its 200 members fail to reach a consensus, diplomats said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) government, sparking huge democracy protests which have triggered a bloody crackdown from the ruling military.

NLD lawmakers make up the majority of a shadow "National Unity Government" which is working to overturn the military regime, which the military government has branded "terrorists".

Ms Suu Kyi has been detained since the military takeover, and faces a catalogue of charges that could see her jailed for decades.