ASEAN is dissatisfied with Myanmar's military's commitment to peace

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

The Indonesian Foreign Minister claims that the country's military authorities have made little headway in executing the group's peace road map.

 

Following their coup, Myanmar's military has made no substantial progress in executing a Southeast Asian peace roadmap or providing input on the work of a regional envoy in the nation, according to Indonesia's foreign minister.

Most foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) voiced unhappiness with Myanmar during a meeting on Monday, and Retno Marsudi told a news conference that they will convey that message to their respective countries' leaders.

 

She claimed that ASEAN had volunteered to help prevent the situation in Myanmar from escalating, but that its envoy had highlighted difficulties in gaining access to all parties in the country. Myanmar has been rocked by months of unrest since the generals seized power on February 1.

If Myanmar refuses to cooperate with ASEAN's special envoy in resolving the problem, Malaysia's foreign minister has warned that it could be excluded from this month's ASEAN leaders' conference.

Malaysia is upset, according to Saifuddin Abdullah, with Erywan Yusof, Brunei's second foreign minister, who assumed office in August.

 

He is apparently still negotiating terms of a visit with Myanmar's military.

He tweeted that having Myanmar's military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at the ASEAN summit later this month would be difficult until progress is made.

Yusof said last month that he wanted unfettered access to all parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians jailed by the military during their power grab.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned in a report last week that the window of opportunity to prevent the army from entrenching its control was closing.