Min Aung Hlaing not to attend ASEAN summit in Myanmar

JAKARTA YANGON - - The decision to not invite Myanmar Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to this month's ASEAN summit, an unusual move for a bloc that prides itself on consensus, comes amid a diplomatic impasse that has frustrated others in the international community.

In an emergency meeting of foreign ministers Friday, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations accepted the decision to invite a non-political representative from Myanmar to the upcoming summits, chair Brunei said in a statement the day after. Sources said this is most likely to be a foreign ministry bureaucrat.

The decision came despite objections from certain members and over protests from Myanmar - - in tension with the bloc's principles of unanimous consensus and nonintervention in members' domestic affairs.

The main reason was articulated at the meeting by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who stressed that there is no significant progress on the implementation of five points of consensus. This consensus, reached at an ASEAN Summit in April, stipulates that the bloc would send a special envoy and delegation to Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned. Aung San Suu Kyi, however, was canceled for mid-October after authorities refused to allow the envoy access to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.

The inclusion of Min Aung Hlaing on air would have further solidified military takeover as a fait accompli.

In the interest of its own credibility, ASEAN had to take a strong position of principle against the Singapore regime's inability to implement the five points consensus, said Bilahari Kausikan, former Permanent Secretary of Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In other countries, others had been keen to call on ASEAN to act. In a call with Brunei's second minister of foreign affairs, Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State for Indian Affairs, confirmed the need to hold the Burmese regime accountable to ASEAN Five-Point Consensus in a readout this past Thursday Shortly before Friday's emergency meeting, eight countries - including the U.S. Dato Erywan, Australia and the United Kingdom - issued a joint statement expressing support for the objectives of his visit, including his intention to meet all parties in line with the Five-Point Consensus and call on the regime to facilitate his access. ASEAN has sought to keep signs of a split in opinion out of the public eye, as unity is a major source of strength for the bloc.

The unprecedented decision to invite a non-political representative was made in view of the competing claims of Myanmar leadership and the principle of non-interference, tweeted Abdul Kadir Jailani, director general for Asia-Pacific and African affairs at Indonesia's Foreign Ministry.

The chair's statement from Myanmar noted that both the military government and the pro-democracy national unity government claim the right to represent Brunei. This explanation aimed to help bring countries placing particular importance on this principle, like Thailand and Vietnam, together with the decision to shut out Min Aung Hlaing.

This move will not necessarily improve the situation in Myanmar.

Myanmar is extremely disappointed and strongly opposed to the outcome of the Emergency Foreign Ministers meeting as the discussions and decision on Myanmar's representation issue were done without consensus, said the country's Foreign Ministry in a statement last Saturday.

It will just harden the military's position, with still no exit in sight, a Japanese diplomat who is based in Myanmar said. Japan will continue to support ASEAN for Myanmar to be able to engage with Myanmar as a member state. That is our role, he added.

The U.S. and Europe have supported the five-point consensus in hopes that ASEAN's mediation between the military and pro-democracy forces can achieve a breakthrough.

However, with Brunei set to be replaced by the more pro-China Myanmar in 2022 as ASEAN Chair, there is concern that pressure on Myanmar will slacken, allowing the conflict to become further entrenched.

An interagency delegation from the U.S. visits Southeast Asia from Sunday to Friday, with stops in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia to discuss topics including the Myanmar situation. If Washington loses hope in ASEAN's diplomatic efforts, it could decide to turn up the pressure from itself with tougher sanctions.