ASEAN calls for peace in Myanmar with the participation of a junta official at the summit

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) welcomed the participation of a Myanmar junta official in their meeting on Wednesday, but stressed their stance on not allowing the junta chief to attend. type of meetings without “concrete progress” on a peace plan agreed between Myanmar and other ASEAN members after the 2021 coup.

As reported by Kyodo News, the leaders agreed on this point during their meeting in Vientiane, capital of Laos, which was the first regular ASEAN summit attended by a representative from Myanmar since the military’s coup d’état on 1 February 2021 and overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, according to diplomatic sources.

The junta had already boycotted meetings of ASEAN leaders after other member countries decided in October 2021 to allow only one non-political representative of the country to attend, effectively excluding the head of the junta.

ASEAN leaders urged “all stakeholders” in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, particularly military and security forces, to reduce violence and stop targeted attacks on civilians and public facilities, according to sources.

The military, using air force planes, has caused many more casualties than opposition forces, made up of armed groups of ethnic minorities and the armed wing of the self-proclaimed pro-democracy Government of National Unity, according to media reports. local communications.

There has been little progress on the so-called five-point consensus peace plan, which includes the need to immediately end the violence and the sending of an ASEAN special envoy to meet with all parties involved, and the conflict has claimed thousands of lives since the coup.

However, ASEAN leaders and Aung Kyaw Moe, permanent secretary of Myanmar’s foreign ministry, stressed the importance of humanitarian aid to the war-torn country from within the regional bloc. This includes Thailand’s initiative to provide aid to displaced civilians through a humanitarian corridor, as well as contributions from other nations, the United Nations and the private sector.

According to sources, Aung Kyaw Moe will also attend meetings organized by ASEAN with partner countries later this week in the capital of Laos, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the 10-member regional bloc.

Myanmar’s decision to send Aung Kyaw Moe to the ASEAN summit comes as the military has suffered numerous setbacks amid a coordinated offensive launched a year ago by three ethnic minority rebel groups.

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In addition to Myanmar, the summit discussed rising tensions in the South China Sea, according to sources, as Chinese ships have increasingly taken aggressive actions against Philippine vessels in the disputed waters since last year.

Vietnam, another ASEAN country whose territorial claims in the South China Sea overlap with China’s, said last week that Chinese law enforcement raided a Vietnamese fishing vessel fishing near the disputed Paracel Islands in late September. the sea, injuring 10 Vietnamese fishermen.

During the summit, some members expressed concern about China’s activities in the South China Sea and urged the country to comply with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to sources.

“This is a general principle of adherence to the rule of law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea… as a general thing,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told reporters after the summit. “We will have the opportunity to go into more details, perhaps in the coming days.”

In the South China Sea, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims.

ASEAN is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

As ASEAN agreed in principle in 2022 to admit East Timor as its 11th member, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone stated during the summit’s opening ceremony on Wednesday that all members are working collectively to help it be ready for join the regional bloc.

The leaders stated that their goal is to achieve the country’s accession to ASEAN as soon as possible, according to sources.