Thai and Philippine diplomats say Southeast Asian foreign ministers are pressing Myanmar to take concrete steps on a stalled five-point peace plan.
bangkokSoutheast Asian foreign ministers pressed their Myanmar counterparts for “concrete” progress on a stalled ASEAN peace plan for the country during a meeting in Bangkok on Sunday, top Thai and Philippine diplomats said.
The meeting between the foreign ministers of several members of the 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe was the first such meeting since the 2021 military coup in the country.
Myanmar has been sidelined diplomatically within the regional bloc since the country’s military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than five years ago, triggering a civil war.
But junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was installed as civilian president in April after highly restricted elections, and neighboring Thailand is leading efforts to normalize relations.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkaew said at a press conference on Sunday that his government supports “calibrated engagement” with Myanmar in an effort to implement ASEAN’s “five-point consensus” plan, which aims to end the war between the military and a coalition of pro-democracy rebels and ethnic minority armed groups.
But he said Myanmar needed to address the concerns of ASEAN and the international community.
“We have some concrete expectations” regarding humanitarian assistance, particularly the reduction of violence against civilians and the promotion of inclusive political dialogue, Sihasak told reporters.
He also urged “the further release of political prisoners and further positive developments” regarding Suu Kyi, 81, who remains in custody after being transferred from prison to house arrest.
“We want to see progress step by step,” Sihasak said.
‘concrete action’
But ASEAN has made little progress in its initiative to end Myanmar’s civil war through dialogue with all parties.
Myanmar lawmakers — elected in a vote that did not include rebel-controlled areas or Suu Kyi’s party — criticized the bloc’s plan in parliament last week, and called for it to be “reviewed and reconsidered,” state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said.
According to the outlet, he said, the plan “undermines Myanmar’s equality within ASEAN and is inconsistent with ASEAN’s core principle of non-interference in member state internal affairs”.
Nevertheless, Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said she and the group stood behind the plan.
Lazaro, who is also the ASEAN chairperson’s special envoy to Myanmar, told reporters that ministers meeting in Bangkok hoped Myanmar would take the opportunity to “make concrete and demonstrable progress or benchmarks on the main points of the five-point consensus” – although no timeline was set.
“ASEAN calls for concrete action towards ending hostilities,” he said. She said she intended to visit Myanmar this year in an effort to increase access to humanitarian aid in the country.
The five-point plan, which Myanmar and the rest of ASEAN agreed to in 2021, calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and dialogue between all parties brokered by the ASEAN envoy.
But analysts say consensus is weakening between ASEAN members who are willing to make small concessions to bring Myanmar back into their fold – a grouping led by Bangkok – and those who are maintaining a hard line.
Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam confirmed the attendance of their foreign ministers on Sunday, while Malaysia’s foreign minister told AFP he could not attend but sent other representatives.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in Myanmar’s civil war, according to monitoring group ACLED.
