TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Half-hearted ASEAN

ASEAN could have avoided such humiliation had it managed to show evidence of significant progress in restoring the situation in Myanmar. 

Editorial board (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, June 2, 2021

Share This Article

Change Size

Half-hearted ASEAN Unity: Protesters hold up posters in support of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) during a demonstration against the military coup on Global Myanmar Spring Revolution Day in Taunggyi, Shan state, Myanmar, on May 2. (AFP/Stringer)

T

he tiny state of Liechtenstein, with an area of just over 160 square kilometers and a population of less than 40,000, made a major diplomatic scoop that was seen as an embarrassment for the feet-dragging 10-member ASEAN at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) recently.

With the support of 48 countries, Liechtenstein drafted a UN resolution ”calling for an immediate suspension of the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer of all weapons, munitions and other military-related equipment to Myanmar". ASEAN could have avoided such humiliation had it managed to show evidence of significant progress in restoring the situation in Myanmar.

Top ASEAN diplomats at the UN headquarters appeared to devote so much energy to defend the brutal military regime, which has killed hundreds of own people, including children, jailed and tortured protestors after it toppled a democratically elected government on Feb. 1. ASEAN members — minus Myanmar because the Myanmar junta withdrew the country’s representative at the UN — are now preoccupied with their mission to lobby the 193 members of the UN to tone down Liechtenstein’s initiative.

As reported by Reuters, ASEAN insisted that the draft "cannot command the widest possible support in its current form, especially from all countries directly affected in the region”, and therefore, further negotiations are needed "to make the text acceptable, especially to the countries most directly affected and who are now engaged in efforts to resolve the situation".

ASEAN had to endure the – unnecessary – disgrace, mostly because of its slow action in implementing what the regional grouping’s leaders had agreed with Myanmar’s junta in Jakarta two months ago. The five-point consensus reached between ASEAN leaders and Gen. Min Aung Hlaing at the ASEAN Secretariat on April 24 stipulates the sending of ASEAN’s special envoy to deal with all related parties in Myanmar, and the cessation of violence and the release of imprisoned antigovernment activists.

But until now, ASEAN rotating chair Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has not formally appointed the special envoy. Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the final decision on the envoy would be issued soon. In the meantime, Gen. Hlaing insisted that he would begin to realize the consensus after the military fully controls the country.

ASEAN has displayed its half-hearted effort to help bring peace and democracy back to Myanmar. Indonesia, along with Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand, were the initiators of the action to end the military regime in Myanmar. Other members such as Thailand and the Philippines have shown little interest in joining the fray. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, for one, is a staunch supporter of Gen. Hlaing, because he himself led a military coup.

As the biggest ASEAN nation, Indonesia should not let this stalemate drag on. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, with advice from Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, needs to push ASEAN to immediately name a special envoy with a strong mandate. President Jokowi should not hesitate to act or think his initiative would “hurt” the ASEAN solidarity.

Should we let other countries bully ASEAN at international forums just for the sake of a ruthless regime in Myanmar?

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.