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ASEAN to ʻclosely monitor’ Myanmar until summit
Bloc will not be ʻheld hostage’ by junta, warns Retno
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SEAN foreign ministers have pledged to keep a close watch on Myanmar’s activities for the next three months before eventually passing judgment, as countries remain divided over how to respond to the junta’s perceived indifference to the bloc.
The 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) commenced on Wednesday morning in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh amid continuing tensions perpetuated by the crisis in Myanmar and its military leaders’ failure to honor the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus. The consensus calls for an immediate cessation of violence, all-inclusive dialogue, the appointment and dispatch of a special envoy and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Hours later, after concluding lunchtime crisis talks, some foreign ministers revealed that they had come to an agreement to monitor Myanmar until a November summit, after the country’s military overstepped diplomatic norms last week.
In his opening remarks, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen noted how with the “economic and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, one of our own [kin] has challenged the ASEAN unity, solidarity and shaken the region's stability”.
“Cambodia, as well as all ASEAN member states, are deeply disappointed and disturbed by the execution of those opposition activists. [...] If more prisoners are to be executed, we will be forced to rethink our role vis-a-vis the Five-Point Consensus,” said the premier.
On July 25, Myanmar’s military government executed four pro-democracy activists claiming that they were killers deserving of death, sparking a global outcry including criticism from ASEAN. The executions – which were in direct violation of the regional consensus – were carried out barely a week before the AMM; a timing that Cambodia had described as “highly reprehensible”.
No Myanmar representatives were present at the meeting, despite coup leader Gen. Aung Min Hlaing’s recent declaration that he would be implementing “the most possible points of the five ASEAN consensus” this year.
Upon the suggestion of Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi to discuss the Myanmar issue separately in a focused setting, the foreign ministers met at midday to “discuss how ASEAN should go forward to deal with Myanmar”.
The group had been divided over the issue of Myanmar, and this carried over into the luncheon meeting that reportedly resulted in heated debate over an idea to bar Myanmar from all ASEAN meetings, even as the bloc would not seek complete expulsion.
At the end of the AMM’s official first day, Retno told reporters in a press briefing that “extensive and open discussions” were held during the luncheon, where countries expressed their dismay at Myanmar’s repeated breaking of promises and the lack of any significant progress in the implementation of the consensus.
“There is no good will from the junta. [...] Everything it does is the direct opposite of the ASEAN recommendations,” said Retno.
“As [Cambodia’s leader] Hun Sen had said, ASEAN shall not be held hostage by Myanmar. It has to keep moving forward.”
The minister also revealed that the bloc, in its spirit of “never abandoning Myanmar”, will continue to “closely monitor” the developments in Naypyidaw up until the ASEAN Summit in November. If the bloc perceives no progress had been made by then, it will proceed to make its recommendations.
“There will be a joint communiqué, which will include some paragraphs on Myanmar,” Retno noted.
According to a draft joint communiqué obtained by The Jakarta Post, ASEAN foreign ministers “expressed their deep concerns over the situation in the country”, among other things.
Frustration over the junta’s refusal to cooperate was expressed by other ministers as well, including Singapore’s top diplomat Vivian Balakhrisnan who said the junta had “disrespected” peace efforts and that “further engagement with the Myanmar military authorities would be of limited value”, Reuters reported.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah also said that the bloc “regrets the fact that the junta has not been cooperative” – behavior that has been “frustrating everyone in ASEAN”.
On Tuesday, Retno announced that the Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) would be further involved in the region’s issues, including in Myanmar, after it was excluded from the drafting of the Five-Point Consensus. The next day, she added that the interests of the Myanmar people would still be catered to by ASEAN.
For its part, Myanmar’s military regime issued a statement in support of China’s concerns over perceived provocations in Taiwan, which observers take as pandering to the superpower.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a stop in Naypyidaw en route to the ASEAN meetings, where he spoke to the junta leader and conveyed his “solidarity” with the military’s efforts at “stabilizing the situation in the country”, AFP reported.
Upon being asked whether Russia’s move had aggravated the regional bloc, Retno said there were no discussions on Lavrov’s involvement, as the ministers were “only focused on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus”.
A week after the executions, Min Aung Hlaing announced that his regime had extended Myanmar’s state of emergency until February 2023.
