Southeast Asian leaders have denounced an attack on an aid convoy that the regional group had arranged for displaced people in Myanmar, calling for an immediate stop to violence and for the military government to comply with a peace plan.
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened at Labuan Bajo in southern Indonesia for a summit. Their host, President Joko Widodo, called for unity amid global economic headwinds and major-power rivalry that is affecting the region.
The 10-nation bloc has come under international pressure to effectively address the crisis in Myanmar.
Over the weekend, a convoy delivering aid to displaced villagers and carrying Indonesian and Singaporean diplomats came under fire in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state. A security team with the convoy returned fire and a vehicle was damaged, but there were no injuries, state-run television reported.
Indonesia, which chairs ASEAN this year, had arranged for the aid delivery after a long-delayed assessment.
“We condemned the attack and underlined that the perpetrators must be held accountable,” the ASEAN leaders noted in a joint statement.
For the second year, Myanmar’s top General was not invited to the summit. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing led the army in seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, plunging the country into a civil strife and becoming ASEAN’s gravest crisis since its founding in 1967.
Indonesia has considerably eased its fierce criticism of Myanmar’s military since assuming the rotating role as ASEAN’s leader. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said her country is taking “a non-megaphone diplomacy approach” to encourage dialogue and end violence, which are goals of a five-point peace plan the leaders negotiated with Myanmar’s military leader in 2021.
ASEAN Leaders Deeply Concerned About Violence In Myanmar
ASEAN leaders said they were “deeply concerned with ongoing violence in Myanmar and urged the immediate cessation of all forms of violence and the use of force to create a conducive environment for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogues.”
According to an ASEAN report, there was also an observation that ASEAN might be experiencing a `Myanmar fatigue,′ which might distract ASEAN from larger goals of ASEAN community-building. “Patience, flexibility and creativity are therefore required since there will be no quick fix to the crisis,” the report noted.
The report mentioned, without going into detail, the concerns on rising transnational crimes, including human trafficking and illegal drug production originating from Myanmar. More distressingly, it said, there was “a call to all parties to stop the influx of arms and financial funding into Myanmar, which leads to an escalation of the conflict.”
More than 3,450 civilians have been killed by security forces since Myanmar’s military took power, and thousands more remain imprisoned, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which keeps tallies of casualties and arrests linked to repression by the military government, disclosed.
In a post-summit communique to be issued by President Joko Widodo on behalf of the ASEAN leaders, they plan to renew a call for self-restraint in the disputed South China Sea, repeating language used in previous ASEAN statements.
“Concerns were expressed by some ASEAN member states on the land reclamations, activities, and serious incidents in the area, including damage to the marine environment, which has eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions, and may undermine peace, security, and stability in the region,” a draft of the communique noted.
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