Myanmar Crisis Still Haunts ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN commenced their four days series of meetings on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. While trying to navigate global challenges as a regional block in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, ASEAN is still currently haunted by the Myanmar crisis.

Myanmar succumbed to violence and instability after the military coup in February 2021. Last month, Thailand urged its neighboring countries to open a dialogue with the Myanmar junta, causing a ripple in the region.

Thailand's Foreign Minister, Don Pamudwinai defended Bangkok's initiative. He believed that the meetings inviting Tatmadaw, which has been done three times, did not violate ASEAN's agreement if the subsequent documents and consensus implementation decision. Don referred to Article 14 of the document released after the 2022 ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which provided that "ASEAN will consider entertaining other approaches to support the implementation of the Five Points Consensus".

Thailand's meeting with the Myanmar junta last June was criticized by many parties, including Indonesia as the ASEAN Chair. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stressed that ASEAN is still committed to the five points consensus, as told at the press conference in Jakarta, on July 7, 2023. The five-point consensus consisted of an immediate end to all violence, the possibility of inclusive dialogue, and full access to humanitarian assistance.

Experts have long pointed out a gap in the state members of ASEAN. The draft of the communique was left blank in the early ministerial meeting about Myanmar in Jakarta since no consensus could be reached. A decade ago, ASEAN had also failed to issue a joint communique due to language disagreement regarding the South China Sea.

Myanmar is still an ASEAN State Member. However, ASEAN forbid the Myanmar junta to attend any international meetings on foreign ministers and the presidential level conducted by ASEAN until they committed to implement the five-point consensus.

The Department Head for International Relations Centre for Strategic and International Studies Lina Alexandra spoke to Tempo on Tuesday and said that the initiative by Thailand has broke ASEAN's efforts. She assessed that Indonesia is on the right path by pushing an inclusive dialogue and Jakarta need to implement that as a benchmark. Indonesia's leadership has involved all stakeholders including the Myanmar junta and NUG to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. Jakarta urges for violence de-escalation and an end to the use of force and also tries to deliver humanitarian assistance to those who needed.

Not a proxy of great power 

Besides Myanmar, the Tuesday and Wednesday meeting also discuss the need to strengthen regional human rights institutions and the commitment to a nuclear-free zone in ASEAN. On Thursday, the ministerial meeting of ASEAN along with Japan, South Korea, and China will commence ahead of the ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Foreign Minister Summit on Friday.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia has confirmed his attendance and will meet the US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken again after their brief meeting in March in the middle of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, China will be represented by Wang Yi, since as mentioned by Reuters, Foreign Minister Qin Gang has not been seen by the public for two weeks due to health problems. 

Blinken will try to "further suppress" China for its actions in the disputed South China Sea, said the US Foreign Ministry Staff for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink to reporters on Friday. Previously, China has made an extensive claim in the area. ASEAN state members such as the Philippines condemned the action and demanded their own freedom of navigation and territorial claim shall be honored.

Minister Retno in her opening remarks did not openly mention Myanmar's issues. She only emphasized the need for ASEAN to unite. Minister Retno believed ASEAN could survive the regional and global dynamics by implementing the collaborative paradigm. "We need to send a clear message that ASEAN will never be a proxy to [other countries'] great power struggles," she said at the ministerial meeting inauguration in Jakarta.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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