Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan mentioned Friday that situations weren’t but proper for ASEAN to open high-level talks with Myanmar on the nation’s political state of affairs.
“We believe it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level,” Balakrishnan mentioned when requested a few news report that Thailand had proposed talks.
Speaking in a joint press convention in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Balakrishnan mentioned the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had just lately reaffirmed their stance.
“We condemned the coup, and the ongoing violence against civilians, the instability in the country, the setback to national reconciliation, and the enormous impact on the economy,” he mentioned of the 2021 army takeover in Myanmar.
“Unfortunately, it’s now more than two years. We haven’t seen any signs of improvement.”
Balakrishnan didn’t reject all engagement with the Myanmar junta.
“The key point is this. You do need everyone ultimately to sit down and negotiate,” he mentioned.
“I don’t know how long it will take. The last time it took 25 years for some form of democratic transition to occur in Myanmar. I hope it won’t take that long.”
Blinken mentioned the United States backs ASEAN efforts to resolve the disaster.
“It’s very important that we continue, all of us, to sustain the appropriate pressure on the junta and look for ways of course to engage the opposition” in Myanmar, he mentioned.
Thailand has proposed to host an off-the-cuff ministerial assembly of some ASEAN members with Myanmar on Sunday and Monday.
“It is time for ASEAN to fully re-engage Myanmar at the leaders’ level,” in response to a Thai authorities letter, seen by AFP.
“In consideration of several pressing factors, the time for dialogues is sooner rather than later.”
A Myanmar junta spokesman didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the proposal.
A Southeast Asian official accustomed to the matter advised AFP on situation of anonymity that Malaysia wouldn’t attend the proposed assembly.
But the Cambodian authorities mentioned its overseas minister will attend the two-day casual discussions in Bangkok.
The assembly will give attention to advancing ASEAN’s five-point peace plan agreed with Myanmar two years in the past, Cambodia’s overseas ministry mentioned.
ASEAN’s final summit, held in May, ended with none important progress on that peace plan, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo warning that the bloc dangers turning into irrelevant.
More than 6,000 civilians have been killed in Myanmar because the February 2021 coup, the Peace Research Institute of Oslo mentioned in a report printed Tuesday. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
