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ASEAN foreign ministers meet today in Jakarta, with focus on Myanmar
Participants at the special meeting, proposed by Indonesia during the foreign ministers' informal talks in New York last month, are expected to decide on how the 10-nation bloc will respond to the junta's noncompliance to a so-called five-point consensus.
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A security officer walks past the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sign as he guards outside its secretariat building in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 27, 2022.
(Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
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oreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathered in Jakarta for a half-day meeting today to lay the groundwork for the group's summit next month, with the focus on how to deal with Myanmar, which has been under military rule since a February 2021 coup.
Participants at the special meeting, proposed by Indonesia during the foreign ministers' informal talks in New York last month, are expected to decide on how the 10-nation bloc will respond to the junta's noncompliance to a so-called five-point consensus.
The consensus, which referred primarily to ending violence against the junta's political opponents and civilian protesters, was reached by the leaders of ASEAN, including Myanmar junta chief Senior Gen. Min Auang Hlaing, at a special summit in April last year.
Despite Min Aung Hlaing saying that some points will be implemented this year, it remains uncertain whether the junta will take any action.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that a seat will be reserved for a nonpolitical representative from Myanmar for Thursday's meeting, despite the junta's continued refusal to send anyone.
"We still invite Myanmar, but if it decides to send no one, their chair and flag will still be there. There is no need for us to be held hostage by the situation," Retno said.
Myanmar's military toppled the democratically elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and has since violently suppressed pro-democracy protesters.
In the latest incident to spark tensions, the junta launched on Sunday an airstrike on a concert held by Myanmar's ethnic rebel group Kachin Independence Organization.
The attack, which was swiftly condemned by the United Nations, killed at least 50 people, including artists and civilians, according to local media.
The junta confirmed the airstrike did take place but did not provide the exact casualty figures, only saying a rebel commander and his deputy were among those killed.
ASEAN's annual summit and other related meetings are scheduled to take place Nov. 11-13 in Cambodia.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Recent weeks have seen some of the bloodiest incidents in Myanmar, including the bombing of Myanmar's largest prison and an air strike in Kachin State on Sunday, which local media said killed at least 50 people, Reuters reported.
ASEAN chair Cambodia has said the talks aimed to come up with recommendations on how to push forward the peace process ahead of the bloc's summit next month.
ASEAN is leading the international peace effort but the junta has done little to honour its commitments in a peace plan agreed with the group last year.
The five-point "consensus" included an immediate halt to violence and starting dialogue towards a peace agreement, as well as allowing an envoy of the ASEAN chair to facilitate mediation and for ASEAN to provide humanitarian assistance.
