ASEAN Troika and Laos’ Continued Efforts to Reconcile Myanmar

ANTARA

Since the October 2021 ASEAN Summit, when the association of Southeast Asian nations was chaired by Brunei Darussalam, ASEAN has banned Myanmar leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his staff from attending ASEAN high-level meetings.

ASEAN was forced to take this decision because the junta, which overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, had no intention of implementing the Four-Point Consensus peace initiative they had agreed with ASEAN.

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The initiative mandates the junta to stop all violence and negotiate with all parties in Myanmar.

But that doesn’t mean ASEAN has closed the door to communication with Myanmar’s de facto ruler.

In contrast, ASEAN allowed Myanmar to send non-political representatives to ASEAN meetings. But the junta refused.

Now that ASEAN is chaired by Laos, Myanmar is sending an official to attend the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Luang Prabang on January 28-29, 2024.

The junta sent Marlar Than Htaik, who is permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The presence of a junta representative at a major ASEAN meeting, however, does not mean that the regional organization has changed its attitude towards the junta.

Instead, ASEAN insists that it consistently relies on the Five-Point Consensus in resolving the Myanmar crisis.

This stance is strongly supported by all ASEAN members, including Indonesia, which last year introduced the troika concept in finding a solution to the Myanmar crisis.

Through this pattern that involves the previous ASEAN chair, the current ASEAN chair and the next ASEAN chair, the offer of a solution to the Myanmar conflict is sustainable.

In an effort to emphasize ASEAN’s commitment, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that there should be no permissive actions that hinder or delay the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus.

So, why did the junta change its attitude?

No one knows for sure why. However, there are suggestions that it is related to the difficult situations the junta has faced recently.

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