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Myanmar crisis: Is this the beginning of the end of ASEAN?
Entering its second year, the protracted Myanmar crisis has become a catastrophe that has put ASEAN's very existence at stake.
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Members of the anti-coup Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) train on Oct. 16, 2021 at the group’s base camp in the forest near Demoso in Kayah state, Myanmar. (AFP/Stringer)
A
region that's long been accustomed to natural disasters is now suffering from seismic activity of the diplomatic kind – one that threatens to break up the regional architecture of Southeast Asia.
The tectonic rift at the foundation of ASEAN continues to worsen, with the interests of the more democratic-leaning founding members on one hand and those of more recent authoritarian member states on the other.
The question before us is: If ASEAN continues to pull itself apart and sinks into irrelevance, what will take its place?
Few may have noticed this shift in political ground. ASEAN has little relevance in the daily lives of most people in Southeast Asia, so despite the critical issues it deals with, it trudges along with many unaware of its weaknesses.
It takes a catastrophe, like the one that has exploded and smoldered in Myanmar for the past year, for it to become clear that if it is going to meaningfully address crucial issues that threaten regional security, economic stability and diplomatic relations, then ASEAN must shape itself accordingly.
With ASEAN front and center, despite all the diplomatic shuttling and rhetoric, the international community has failed to make any progress on the crisis; if anything, it’s made matters worse.
The split within ASEAN, over the fundamental point of whether or not it was a matter of concern for the bloc, was evident within days of the attempted coup.
