ASEAN ministers to discuss Myanmar at Thailand meeting, Indonesia says

JAKARTA: Members of the Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN are planning to hold a ministerial meeting in Thailand later this month to discuss the crisis in member-nation Myanmar, Indonesia's foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat told reporters on Thursday.

At the invitation of current ASEAN host Laos, the meeting will talk about ways to approach the crisis which has gripped Myanmar since a 2021 military coup, including on the implementation of ASEAN's five-point consensus plan, he said.

The consensus has made scant progress since its unveiling in April 2021, just months after Myanmar's military unseated the elected government.

The junta has been battling a rebellion that erupted after the and has largely ignored calls by its Southeast Asian neighbours to cease hostilities and enter into dialogue with its opponents.

During an ASEAN summit in October, the bloc called for "an immediate cessation" of violence and the creation of a "conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue" that is "Myanmar-owned and -led".

The meeting is expected to start on Dec. 20, Roy said, and Indonesia's foreign minister is expected to attend.