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Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan has labeled airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Armed Forces on a village that killed civilians as "reprehensible".

Cannot be condoned

Vivian's posted on social media, strongly condemning the Myanmar Armed Forces' Apr. 11 airstrike Pa Zi Gyi Village in the northern part of Myanmar, saying:

"Any attack on civilians is reprehensible and cannot be condoned."

It also reiterated the Singapore government's support for the statement of Indonesia, the Asean chair, who said that the air strikes had killed "at least" dozens of civilians.

Indonesia's statement as Asean Chair called for the end of all forms of violence immediately, especially the use of force against civilians.

Only in this way, the statement added, could there be "an inclusive national dialogue" to find a sustainable and peaceful solution in Myanmar.

It also reiterated Asean's commitment to implementing the Five Point Consensus (5PC), the agreement the bloc had come to with stakeholders in Myanmar, including the Military government.

Myanmar military govt blames insurgency for deaths

The Guardian reported that the airstrikes were carried out in the village of Pa Zi Gyi, north of Mandalay, hitting a gathering of hundreds of civilians.

Myanmar's air force reportedly attacked with bombs and while helicopters strafed the gathering.

According to Reuters, on the ground reports say that between 80 to 100 people were killed, although the exact number of dead could not be confirmed and that "body parts are scattered all over the place".

The Myanmar military government justified the attack, blaming the deaths on an explosion of weapons storage belonging to what it calls insurgent terrorists, that was hit during the airstrikes.

It also said that civilians attending the gathering had been forced to do so against their will by the insurgency.

An alarming scale

This is not the first airstrike against what Myanmar's military characterise as "terrorists".

An airstrike in October 2022 prompted Asean foreign ministers to hold an emergency meeting in Jakarta.

But despite Asean entreaties to implement the 5PC and negotiate with the opposition National Unity Government, Myanmar's military has refused to do so.

Instead, the military government has prosecuted former officials from the former government. It has sentenced Suu Kyi to 33 years in prison, while executing activists it labeled as terrorist.

In March 2023, it also disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy for failing to register for an upcoming general election, although when the election will be held is not yet known, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the United Nations' special envoy to Myanmar, Singaporean Noeleen Heyzer warned in March that "there is no prospect for a negotiated settlement", according to AFP, adding that violence continued at "an alarming scale". 

Behind the scenes

Outside observers have regularly complained about Asean inaction in the face of an ever growing number of atrocities.

But Asean leaders, such as Indonesian president Joko Widodo, have countered by saying that much work has been going on behind the scenes.

Former Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan has noted in an article published by Fulcrum, noted the positives and negatives of Asean's approach to the Myanmar coup thus far.

Singapore, for its part, has reiterated that Myanmar remains a part of Asean, but that fundamentally, Asean is not the "rate limiting factor" for the resolution of the crisis.

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Top image via @MyanmarWitness/Twitter & @nslwin/Twitter