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ASEAN struggles for unity on Myanmar conflict
Gathered in Jakarta for their annual meeting, foreign ministers from the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had been expected to issue a joint communique on Wednesday, but by late afternoon on Thursday there was still no sign of it.
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(From left to right) Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Philippines' Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, East Timor's Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn prepare for a family photo of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post Ministerial Conference with India during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Jakarta on July 13, 2023.
(AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
F
inding unity over how to deal with Myanmar's junta continued to evade Southeast Asian nations on Thursday, as foreign ministers meeting in Jakarta struggled to agree on a communique that would include a reference to their neighbour's internal strife.
Gathered in Jakarta for their annual meeting, foreign ministers from the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had been expected to issue a joint communique on Wednesday, but by late afternoon on Thursday there was still no sign of it.
The cause of the delay was unclear but an ASEAN official said a communique was being finalised and would be released soon.
ASEAN, which includes Myanmar among its 10 members, has pushed, without success, for the implementation of a five-point peace plan agreed with the junta shortly after a coup in early 2021.
No Myanmar representatives were present in this week's meeting. Junta officials have been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings due to the lack of progress on the plan, which calls for a halt to violence and talks between the military and its pro-democracy opponents.
The inability to exert more influence over the junta has fed long-held doubts about ASEAN's effectiveness as a regional political bloc.
Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters that the communique was "probably not" finalised yet, saying it "must be complicated".
