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Jakarta Post

Myanmar crisis looms over ASEAN Summit

President condemns attack on aid delivery.

Nina A. Loasana and Yvette Tanamal (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta/Labuan Bajo, Flores
Tue, May 9, 2023

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Myanmar crisis looms over ASEAN Summit

T

he fallout from the 2021 Myanmar coup will loom large over the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Indonesia this week despite the junta’s absence, with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressing regret over an attack on a diplomatic convoy delivering humanitarian relief in the conflict-ridden country.

As chair of ASEAN and host of the regional summitry this year, Indonesia has sought to implement a five-point peace plan agreed with Myanmar two years ago that called for the cessation of violence and the granting of access to humanitarian assistance, following a pandemic-era putsch that has sparked violent clashes between the junta forces and a multi-headed resistance.

Now, just days before he is set to open the summit, Jokowi had to get tough with the warring sides after a mission involving regional humanitarian relief agency the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) got caught in crossfire.

“Yesterday [Sunday], a monitoring team from ASEAN accompanied the AHA Centre to distribute aid [in Myanmar], but we deeply regret that a shootout erupted in the middle of their journey,” the President said in a video statement issued from Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, on Monday.

Jokowi did not provide any further details on the incident, but insisted that it would not deter the efforts by ASEAN and Indonesia to broker peace in Myanmar.

“Stop using force. Stop this violence, because it is the people who suffer. Such conditions will prevent anyone from winning, so let us sit together and open a path for dialogue toward a common solution,” Jokowi asserted.

It was later reported that a convoy of several vehicles traveling in Taunggyi township in Myanmar’s Shan state was attacked by an unknown armed group on Sunday, unnamed sources told AFP.

The convoy was carrying diplomats from the embassies of Indonesia and Singapore and AHA Centre officials coordinating humanitarian relief.

No casualties were reported in the incident, and no armed groups have claimed responsibility. Although it remains unclear who was behind the attack, several activists and watchdogs have previously alleged that the junta regime has been distributing the assistance from ASEAN to the military.

Khin Ohmar, the head of Myanmar-based advocacy group Progressive Voice, for instance, questioned the AHA Centre’s independence last week, noting that some of its members were also part of the Myanmar military regime.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi previously complained about restricted access over the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, especially in regions outside of the regime's control.

“I will continue to talk with stakeholders to ensure that we have progress on the delivery of humanitarian aid,” she told a press conference in Jakarta, just days before the shooting incident.

Junta-led Myanmar remains an ASEAN member state but has been barred from attending ASEAN meetings over the military leadership’s failure to honor the Five-Point Consensus (5PC). The peace plan was drawn up by ASEAN leaders in April 2021, more than a month after the coup.

Various rights groups and even experts from the United Nations have suggested that the resolution of the bloody crisis will be a litmus test for ASEAN, which has been criticized as being too slow and unwieldy to respond.

Broader agenda

Officials have previously hinted that the Myanmar coup crisis will feature prominently in this week’s summit, and Jokowi himself has acknowledged the complexity of the Myanmar situation, burdened by seven decades of history.

But there are other issues ASEAN also seeks to address.

The week-long flurry of meetings in Labuan Bajo will see senior ASEAN officials bring together a mix of topics to discuss on Monday, which will then inform the foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened as the leaders of Southeast Asia, minus Thailand and Myanmar but with the addition of Timor-Leste, convene on Wednesday and Thursday before issuing several outcome documents. The National Police were monitoring potential threats of protests and acts of terrorism, its chief said on Sunday.

With housekeeping as the primary focus for this first summit under Indonesia’s chairmanship, key documents such as the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Strengthening ASEAN Institutions and the ASEAN Post-2025 Vision are expected to provide more details on how the association seeks to make itself more agile and resilient in dealing with emergent issues.

Several other documents, which will address economic and security cooperation in the region, will also appear at the end of the week, including papers on human trafficking via the misuse of technology, the protection of migrant workers, electric vehicle (EV) ecosystems and the development of the ASEAN village networks.

In his video statement, Jokowi also highlighted the importance of ending human trafficking in the region, noting the recent rescue of more than 1,000 victims in the Philippines, including 143 Indonesian nationals.

“This issue is very important and I intentionally proposed it because the victims are ASEAN citizens and a large portion of them are Indonesians. [...] Human trafficking must be eradicated from both upstream and downstream. I repeat, it must be eradicated completely,” he said.

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