Asean foreign ministers meet for informal consultation on ongoing Myanmar crisis

On Dec. 19 and 20, Asean leaders gathered in Thailand for an Extended Informal Consultation amongst Asean member states on Myanmar.

The extended informal consultation was held in support of the Asean Troika mechanism, which is made up of the current, previous, and future Asean Chairs which are Laos, Indonesia, and Malaysia respectively.

The informal consultation was attended by the foreign ministers of several Asean states but did not include Myanmar.

Peaceful resolution of crisis

Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan conveyed Singapore’s grave concerns that violence continued to escalate in Myanmar nearly four years after the 2021 coup.

Vivien also expressed Singapore's disappointment with the limited progress being made in the implementation of Asean's Five Point Consensus.

He stressed the importance of constructive dialogue among Myanmar’s key stakeholders to achieve a peaceful and durable resolution of the crisis.

In a social media post after the meeting, Vivian said that the Myanmar authorities must honour the Five Point Consensus, and called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s opposition.

Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest. The 79-year-old was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment for election fraud and corruption, although this has now been reduced to 27 years.

Vivian also emphasised that Singapore will continue to support the work of the incoming Asean Chair, and its special envoy.

Vivian also had a separate meeting with Malaysia's foreign minister Mohamed Hassan, as well as the Lao PDR minister of foreign affairs Thongsavanh Phomvihane.

Continuing violence

The situation in Myanmar continues to be dire.

Violence simmered after the 2021 coup but expanded into all-out warfare in October 2023 when an alliance of resistance armies launched a series of offensives.

Fighting has reached almost all parts of the country, with rebels successfully taking several key towns.

Myanmar military government meanwhile has refused to implement the Five Point Consensus that it agreed to with Asean members, and as a result has been banned from sending political appointees to ASEAN meetings.

However, it has always been allowed to send non-political representatives, such as civil servants, to such meetings although it has until this year declined to do so.

The return of Myanmar’s representatives to such events was initially seen as a positive event, although it remains to be seen what impact it will have.

2025 election?

Meanwhile, neighbours, such as Thailand have reached out informally to the military government outside of the formal Asean mechanism.

One such meeting took place earlier in the week, comprising Myanmar and its immediate neighbours Thailand, China, India, and Bangladesh.

Myanmar‘s military government has proposed elections in 2025, but many are sceptical about how effective such elections might be in solving the ongoing crisis.

Reuters reports that Thailand has told Myanmar that if there should be an election in 2025, AIA would want an inclusive process that includes all stakeholders.

Reuters also reports that Asean is still waiting for details of the election from Myanmar.

A Thai foreign minister official was quoted as saying that Asean would need to find a common position on the proposed ballot, although the ballot has the backing of countries such as China.

Related stories

Top image via Vivian Balakrishnan/Facebook