Myanmar warns any ASEAN pressures would create 'negative implications'

JAKARTA: Myanmar's military government warned on Thursday that any pressure from its Southeast Asian neighbours to put a time frame on a peace plan would create "negative implications".

The ruling junta, which seized power from an elected government last year, was reacting to a meeting earlier on Thursday of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries in Jakarta to discuss easing the intensifying crisis.

ASEAN remains committed to a peace plan agreed with Myanmar's military rulers, its chair Cambodia said on Thursday, even as some countries raised concerns over the failure to implement the plan agreed with the junta 18 months ago.

No Myanmar representatives were present at the special meeting of the group's foreign ministers to discuss the stalled peace plan.

Myanmar's generals have been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings since last year, after the army ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in a February 2021 coup, detaining her and thousands of activists and launching a deadly crackdown that has given rise to armed resistance movements.

The junta has done little to honour its commitments to the so-called five-point peace "consensus" which includes an immediately halting violence, starting dialogue, allowing an ASEAN chair envoy to facilitate mediation and allowing ASEAN to provide humanitarian assistance.

The head of the junta has blamed the lack of progress on instability in the country and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Late on Thursday, Myanmar's military-appointed foreign ministry released a statement blaming armed resistance movements for violence and saying pressure to set a time frame will create more negative implications than positive ones.

Political analysts said the ASEAN meeting, which comes ahead of the bloc's leaders' summit next month, was disappointing and did little to move the needle on getting Myanmar's generals to cooperate.

"Today's meeting reflects that there is no common position among the ASEAN countries, they are split in handling the Myanmar issue," said Lina Alexandra of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.

ASEAN foreign ministers and representatives agreed on Thursday the bloc should be even more determined for a peaceful solution in Myanmar as soon as possible, the chair said in a statement, noting that Myanmar's situation remained "critical and fragile".

"The foreign ministers expressed concern and disappointment over no significant progress on the five-point consensus implementation," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told a news conference after the meeting.

Recent weeks have included some of the bloodiest incidents in Myanmar, including a bombing at Myanmar's largest prison and an air strike in Kachin State on Sunday, which local media said killed at least 50 people.

"The violent acts need to stop immediately. And Indonesia has mentioned that this request needs to be delivered to Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) immediately," said Retno.

ASEAN has a longstanding policy of non-interference in members' sovereign affairs, but some have called for the bloc to be bolder in taking action against the junta and engaging other stakeholders like the shadow government.

When asked if ASEAN representatives would meet the shadow National Unity Government, Indonesian foreign ministry official Sidharto R. Suryodipuro said: "engagement with all stakeholders includes other parties, NUG being one of them."

The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, on Wednesday described the situation in Myanmar as "tragic" and said the United States, which has imposed sanctions on the military.