Indonesia reaffirms Myanmar’s involvement in joint discussions of ASEAN
Labuan Bajo, The Gulf Observer: The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) affirmed that Myanmar, through the presence of its non-political officials, would still be involved in joint discussions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Restriction to Myanmar’s involvement is only limited to the extent of its political leaders. The country is still adequately represented by its civil servants like us at various forums of discussion,” MFA Spokesperson Faizasyah told ANTARA in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara Province, on Thursday.
According to Faizasyah, it means that the country would continue to be part of discussions towards agreements.
After the military junta ousted the elected government of Myanmar in a coup in February 2011, the leaders of ASEAN made an agreement on the so-called Five-Point Consensus with the military junta leader General Min Aung Hlang that meant to serve as a plan to help Myanmar address its crisis.
However, the situation in Myanmar has instead worsened in two years after the agreement, with the military junta incessantly launching air strikes while abandoning its obligation to implement the agreed consensus.
Nevertheless, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi stated that the ASEAN would not capitulate to find a way to resolve the conflict despite Myanmar making no progress in implementing the consensus.
Along with ASEAN, she said Indonesia would continue to maintain relations with all stakeholders in Myanmar.
At the 42nd ASEAN Summit, ASEAN leaders have issued a joint statement to complement President Joko Widodo’s statement in response to the armed attacks that were recently experienced by the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and the ASEAN monitoring team in Myanmar.
In addition to the joint statement, the ASEAN leaders have produced at least 10 other documents during the 42nd ASEAN Summit main events that took place on May 10-11.
The documents comprise the Declaration on Combating Trafficking in Persons Caused by The Abuse of Technology; Declaration on Developing Regional Electric Vehicle Ecosystem; and Declaration on Advancing Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local Currency Transaction.
Furthermore, the ASEAN leaders also issued several other statements, including Statement on The Development of The ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision, Statement on Strengthening ASEAN’s Capacity and Institutional Effectiveness, and the Chairman’s Statement of the 42nd ASEAN Summit.
