© Reuters. Indonesian Special Air Force personnel guard at Komodo International Airport, prior to the ASEAN Summit held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Willie Kurniawan
Written by Kate Lamb
LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (Reuters) – Southeast Asian leaders meeting in Indonesia on Wednesday called for an immediate halt to fighting in military-ruled Myanmar, trying to create a window for urgent dialogue and aid as fighting intensifies.
The summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was expected to witness debate over the bloody crisis in Myanmar, with impatience as the military junta shows no intention of following through on a peace plan agreed with the 10-member bloc two years ago.
“We were deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Myanmar and urged an immediate cessation of all forms of violence and use of force,” a statement by the leaders said.
They sought to create “an enabling environment for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance and for inclusive national dialogues.”
The meeting takes place at a time when the Myanmar army is intensifying its attacks and air strikes on the resistance forces and rebels from ethnic minorities as it tries to consolidate its authority before the elections to be held.
It also comes days after unidentified assailants opened fire on a convoy of regional diplomats and aid workers in Myanmar bringing supplies to some of the more than a million people displaced by conflict since the 2021 coup.
firmer
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said earlier that the bloc should speak out and speak as one on its most difficult issues.
“Will ASEAN just remain silent, or will ASEAN be able to become the engine, peace or growth?” he said.
ASEAN, which pursues a policy of laissez-faire in the affairs of its members, has become increasingly assertive with Myanmar’s junta over its failure to implement the five-point peace “consensus” that its top general agreed to with ASEAN just months after the coup he sparked. chaos.
ASEAN has banned the generals from high-level meetings until they implement the peace plan, which includes a cessation of hostilities, a start of dialogue, and full humanitarian access.
Indonesia is also quietly reaching out to Myanmar’s military, shadow government and armed ethnic groups in a bid to jump-start peace talks.
“ASEAN is really doing everything it can because when you’re out there on the ground, it’s not that easy,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said.
But some have called on ASEAN to take a harder line with the Myanmar military junta.
Former Indonesian Foreign Minister Martti Natalegawa said, “Leaving the seat vacant in the ASEAN summits is actually a comfort zone for them, there is no need for accountability.”
“The removal of the military council is only part of a series of steps that must be taken.”
He said the split over Myanmar posed an “unprecedented challenge” to the bloc’s unity, and that it mainly worked with only nine of its 10 members.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said late Tuesday that the leaders’ meeting is expected to include talks on a code of conduct for the South China Sea and escalating tensions over Taiwan. It was not immediately clear if these matters were discussed.