he Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it was preparing for this week’s Bangkok meeting slated to discuss the Myanmar crisis, adding that ASEAN’s commitment to an inclusive dialogue remained unchanged despite the absence of any Naypyidaw representatives at the formal talks.
The meeting, initiated by current ASEAN chair Laos, will feature at least seven of the group’s members and three other external countries interested in resolving the Myanmar crisis, particularly through the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) for peace, the ministry’s spokesperson Rolliansyah “Roy” Soemirat said.
“This meeting is crucial for Indonesia to underline the urgency of the Myanmar crisis, and the implementation of the 5PC through a Myanmar-led, Myanmar-owned solution where every stakeholder can cooperate and deliver,” Roy told a press briefing on Monday.
“The agenda so far is not so rigid, every representative present will have their time to share their perspectives,” he added.
The crisis in Myanmar, first sparked in 2021 when a military coup deposed Naypyidaw’s democratically elected government, has in recent years tested ASEAN’s capability to solve problems.
ASEAN has since initiated hundreds of peace dialogues with various stakeholders in Myanmar, all while insisting that it will neither directly intervene nor expel Naypyidaw from the group. Its 5PC initiative, however, has struggled to take hold in Myanmar, with its calls for an immediate cessation of violence, dialogue among all parties, engagement of a special envoy and humanitarian assistance largely ignored by the military junta.
Against this backdrop, ASEAN formed late last year a troika of the current chair, previous chair and upcoming chair to advance a peaceful resolution in Myanmar. It was later expanded to include “troika plus” countries: ASEAN members interested in participating in the resolution of the conflict despite not being part of the troika arrangement.
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