From the Myanmar side, members of anti-junta groups, including National Unity Government representative Zin Mar Aung, reportedly joined the event, while a junta representative “was not expected to take part”, although they were invited.

There are several ways to look at what the meeting was all about. For Indonesia in particular, it could be seen as a “last kick” before the current administration steps down with the inauguration of president-elect Prabowo Subianto on Oct. 20.

If we refer to Indonesia’s proposal of creating an “ASEAN Troika”, a mechanism put forth near the end of its chairmanship in 2023, the Foreign Ministry seems to have taken the meeting as its final opportunity as the former chair within the current constellation before it shifts from Laos to Malaysia in 2025, and then to the Philippines in 2026, which replaces Myanmar in the annual rotation. Anyway, the Laos chairmanship showed no interest from the outset in following up on the troika initiative.

As the Myanmar crisis is expected to be one of the main topics of discussion at the ASEAN Summit, which runs from Oct. 9 to 11, this initiative is sure to receive much attention in terms of what it can achieve.

Should this be treated as Indonesia’s final push, particularly if this meeting is framed as the first attempt toward facilitating political dialogue as mandated by the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), unfortunately, the participants were incomplete: Aside from Singapore, the frontline state that has the biggest stake and leverage, Thailand was absent.

Following the meeting, ASEAN secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn said Thailand would host an informal consultation on Myanmar in December, although he could not confirm whether a representative from Myanmar’s State Administration Council (SAC) would attend.