Slow progress on Myanmar crisis has left negative mark on Asean: Indonesian foreign minister

JAKARTA – Asean leaders are expected to decide on the grouping’s next course of action regarding Myanmar, following a review of the implementation of a 2021 peace plan conducted by foreign ministers on Monday, given its limited progress in tackling the crisis there.

Calling on the regional bloc to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the issue, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the insignificant progress in implementing Asean’s five-point consensus on Myanmar has not only “left a negative mark” on the grouping, but has also overshadowed its progress in other efforts.

“We are all aware of many difficult circumstances in the region. But we cannot allow them to affect our hard work in the (Asean) Summit,” she said on Monday in her opening remarks

at the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM),

which Indonesia hosted as rotating chairman of Asean in 2023.

“The eyes of our peoples are on us to prove Asean still matters and can contribute towards peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” she added.

The consensus serves as the grouping’s main road map to tackle the situation in Myanmar, which plunged into a crisis after its military junta launched a coup against the democratically elected government in February 2021.

At the AMM on Monday, Ms Retno and her counterparts reviewed the implementation of the peace plan,

which was agreed upon in April 2021.

After the meeting, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said the ministers have submitted a few proposals for the leaders’ deliberation, adding that efforts were also being made to ensure a peaceful and effective measure to address the issue in Myanmar.

“Malaysia and other partners had expressed our views that we cannot just let it be, without any strong action taken against Myanmar’s junta,” he told reporters.

South-east Asian leaders will convene in Jakarta from Tuesday to Thursday

for the 43rd Asean Summit.

Myanmar’s ruling military junta is still banned from formal Asean summits, but the country is allowed to send a non-political figure – although it may not do so.

Indonesia, as the summit host, has worked hard to push for a united Asean solution, Ms Retno said, but noted that “Asean can only steam forward in full power if we can ensure a peaceful and lasting solution in Myanmar”.

She also noted that Asean has been working hard in the past nine months on efforts that include ensuring a peaceful and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, and getting more countries from outside Asean to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-east Asia that governs interstate relations in South-east Asia.

At the 27th Political Security Council Meeting later in the day, Ms Retno said the “insignificant progress in Myanmar left a negative mark on Asean”.

She acknowledged that Asean has been challenged with one crisis after another, and continues to face uncertainties. The accelerating geopolitical tension and rivalries could lead to open conflicts that “our region will be forced to face”, she said.

However, she underscored the need for the bloc to tackle the issues head-on so as not to compromise its relevance.

Citing the humanitarian and socio-economic impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine as a warning, she said: “We should not let the same situation happen to our region and undermine the progress that Asean has worked for since 1967.”

Besides the Myanmar crisis, the grouping also faces continuing challenges over negotiations on the code of conduct that governs the South China Sea, where there are overlapping territorial claims by China, Taiwan and four Asean states – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In the past week,

tensions have also simmered over China’s new national map

featuring a 10-dash line that includes the waters off the South-east Asian nations’ coasts, as well as part of the north-east of India. The map has triggered objections from the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and India.

At the 34th Asean Coordinating Council Meeting on Monday, Ms Retno called for unity within Asean and its readiness to make bold decisions, saying that the current challenges Asean faces “are already big enough to keep us struggling at times” but would be even greater in the future.

“Whether Asean can move forward or not entirely depends on us... But I think all of us here know that Asean’s credibility and Asean’s relevance are at stake here.”