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Calls mount for ASEAN to step up Myanmar peace plan
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People line up for food aid being distributed on April 3, 2025, in Sagaing, Myanmar, following the March 28 earthquake. The shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28 flattened buildings across Myanmar, killing more than 3,000 people and making thousands more homeless. (AFP/Sai Aung Main)
W
ith increased contact between the international community and Myanmar’s junta government following a deadly 7.7-magnitude earthquake in late March, ASEAN should consider intensifying its political efforts in Naypyidaw by unifying its Myanmar agenda and building better rapport with local actors, experts have said.
Humanitarian relief efforts, while focused on the short-term goal of providing assistance to the people of Myanmar, could be an effective long-term entryway to kick-start a fresh round of negotiations in advancing its peace-led solution, the Five Point Consensus (5PC), they further suggested.
“At the moment, ASEAN’s core focus as a regional institution should be in aiding Myanmar’s post-disaster efforts. The mega-disaster that happened in Myanmar is very concerning and has claimed thousands of lives,” Jakarta-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) international relations department head Lina Alexandra said on Tuesday.
“That being said, there is hope that this would be a good momentum for ASEAN to take a leading role with all the actors in Myanmar to do further engagement, given that there is increased access now, as well as given our own experience with the 2004 tsunami in Aceh,” she continued.
The death toll in Myanmar surpassed 3,500 people on Tuesday as local authorities continue their relief and recovery efforts, a challenging undertaking so far supported by international assistance in response to the junta’s rare call for help last month.
Read also: Myanmar quake's call
The deadly earthquake, now referred to as the “Big Mandalay Earthquake”, has caused enormous damage in some of the country’s biggest cities, including Yangon and Naypyidaw.
