Jakarta is hosting the 43^rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings this week, the culmination of Indonesia’s chairmanship of the organization this year, against the backdrop of persistent internal and external crises, most prominently the coup crisis in Myanmar.

The military overthrow of the democratically elected government in Naypyidaw more than two years ago has continued to be a sore point for ASEAN, eroding faith in the group’s ability to act in times of crisis.

“For the interest of the ASEAN family, we must be bolder in evaluating ourselves and discuss this matter in the open so that we can seek solutions. We must take on efforts that are more tactical and extraordinary,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said ahead of the summit’s retreat session, where leaders engaged in more private discussions.

ASEAN leaders later emerged from the first day of closed-door summitry with an agreement to skip Myanmar’s scheduled chairmanship of the group in 2026, as part of a wider review of the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus (5PC) on Myanmar.

The 5PC calls for the immediate cessation of violence, inclusive dialogue, the appointment and dispatch of a special envoy and delivery of humanitarian assistance.

But the leaders “were gravely concerned by the lack of substantial progress on the implementation by the authority in Myanmar, despite their commitment to the 5PC in April 2021”, according to a joint statement issued on Tuesday.

They said Myanmar would not be permitted to chair ASEAN until further notice.

“[We have] decided that the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026 shall be assumed by the Philippines, and, subsequently, the chairmanship rotation [will] continue based on alphabetical order,” the joint statement read.

Nearly 25,000 people have been arbitrarily arrested and more than 4,000 killed since the coup, according to an estimate by a local war monitor. Some other estimates place the figures much higher.

The leaders “strongly condemned” the ongoing violence in Myanmar and upheld a decision to bar the junta from sending political representatives to future high-level ASEAN talks.

They also agreed to form a troika between the current chair, previous chair and upcoming chair to engage with all Myanmar stakeholders according to the terms of the 5PC.

Analysts had previously criticized the yearly replacement of ASEAN’s special envoy on Myanmar as inconsistent and counterproductive.

Speaking after the summit plenary session in Jakarta, Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said, “It is my pleasure to announce that the Philippines is ready to take the helm and chair ASEAN in 2026.”

Indonesia’s lead ASEAN diplomat Sidharto Suryodipuro claimed afterward that the leaders had not informed the Myanmar junta of the decision and said they were under no obligation to seek the military government’s approval.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun confirmed separately with AFP that Myanmar would be replaced as chair.

Long-term reforms

ASEAN’s review of its Myanmar strategy was one of several initiatives the group launched in a bid to strengthen its internal processes and manifest its goal of ASEAN centrality.

The leaders began work on the Concord IV document, which aims to set out guiding principles for ASEAN’s 2045 vision. The details of the accord are to be negotiated until 2025.

The delegates also agreed to a set of more specific tweaks to ASEAN’s decision-making processes.

ASEAN’s critics say its adherence to the principles of noninterference and consensus-based decision-making, alongside its bureaucratic red tape, have rendered it ineffective at dealing with current geopolitical dynamics.

“All of us are acutely aware of the magnitude of the global challenges we face today, and the key to facing them headlong lies in the unity and centrality of ASEAN,” Jokowi said in his remarks at the summit’s opening.

“ASEAN must be able to work harder, be more united, take on more courage and become even more agile.”

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi later added that the plenary session had produced 10 other documents covering topics such as human rights, inclusive development, food security and negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.

After the plenary session, Indonesia’s Sidharto told reporters that the leaders had also agreed to expand the bloc’s secretariat into a headquarters, where permanent ASEAN representatives and the secretary-general would be empowered to hold more discussions and make decisions.

“The point is to strengthen ASEAN’s diplomatic process amid growing upheavals in the region,” he said.

An ‘equal’ bunch

As ASEAN leaders were wrestling with internal troubles, global leaders began descending on Jakarta to attend Wednesday’s East Asian Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and a string of ASEAN-Plus summits.

Among those touching down at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport were Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

With ASEAN seeking to assert its Indo-Pacific centrality, Jokowi said ahead of Wednesday’s talks with external partners that equality was at the heart of the group’s discussions, even if that meant disagreements. 

“Differences enrich democracy,” the President said.

To help actualize the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), ASEAN leaders staged the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF) on Tuesday, an economic convention focused cooperation among developing countries.

On Wednesday, the AIPF will be followed by a business-matching session attended by 129 companies from across the region. (tjs)