ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday called for regional unity in addressing an intensifying conflict in Myanmar, amid doubts over the bloc’s capability to implement a two-year-old peace process that has yet to get off the ground.
The gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta comes as patience wears thin among its 10 members over Myanmar’s military rulers’ refusal to halt hostilities and start inclusive dialogue, as agreed to by its top general in April 2021.
Myanmar has been beset by fighting since the military seized power in early 2021 before unleashing a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy opponents, which prompted a wave of retaliatory attacks by a resistance movement and ethnic minority armies.
ASEAN chair Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she and her counterparts discussed implementation of the “five-point consensus”, which is the only diplomatic process in play for achieving peace in Myanmar, where the United Nations estimates 1.5 million people have been displaced.
Source : Reuters
