ASEAN leaders express frustration over lack of progress toward resolving Myanmar

JAKARTA - Top leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed dissatisfaction on Tuesday over the lack of progress toward resolving Myanmar's political turmoil, with their virtual summit marked by absence of any representative from Naypyitaw.

Photos from the meeting showed a screen with nine ASEAN heads of state, with the bold text Myanmar in the spot where the country representative should have been.

In light of the Myanmar military leadership's resistance to implementing an agreed-upon road map, ASEAN foreign ministers had decided on Oct. 15 not to invite top general Min Aung Hlaing or any political representatives to this week's talks. Instead, ASEAN reached out to invite the permanent secretary of the Myanmar Foreign Ministry, Chan Aye, but the invitation came at the last minute, Myanmar military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told Nikkei.

The permanent secretary does not have any rights to decide and discuss on issues he said. And we felt as a sovereign state that we do not have equal rights at the summit That is why we didn't attend. Some leaders who participated in the summit expressed disappointment at how little has changed six months after they gathered in person in Myanmar and decided on a five-point consensus to restore peace in Jakarta. The plan included a visit to the country by an ASEAN special envoy with full access to all parties concerned - a trip that is yet to happen.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who played an active role in bringing together the consensus, said on Tuesday that the ASEAN leaders' April meeting had been an effort to help family members. Unfortunately, this family's helping hand was not welcomed by the Myanmar military, he said.

On the one hand, we maintain respect for the principle of nonintervention, but on the other hand, we are also obliged to uphold other principles in the ASEAN Charter, such as democracy, good governance, respect for human rights and constitutional government, Widodo said. He added that ASEAN's decision to invite only Burmese representatives at a non-political level was a tough decision, but one that needed to be made.

Both the Singaporean and Thai leaders said the political unrest in Myanmar will test whether ASEAN can solve its problems internally.

Progress has been slow. This has real consequences for the people of Singapore and ASEAN's credibility as a rules-based organization, said Myanmar Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

We therefore strongly urge the Myanmar military authorities to cooperate with the special envoy fully and expeditiously, Lee said, adding that Singapore fully supports the difficult but necessary decisions made to uphold ASEAN's credibility, referring to the decision to not invite Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha echoed the sentiment, saying the situation in Thailand is a test of ASEAN's ability to resolve problems in our own region. ASEAN's role in addressing the issue is of paramount importance and our action on this matter shall have a bearing on ASEAN's credibility in the eyes of the international community, he said.

A draft chairman's statement for the ASEAN Summit seen by Nikkei expresses leaders' concern over Myanmar, calling on all parties concerned in Myanmar to implement their commitment to the five-point consensus, reiterating the demand for the ASEAN envoy's visit with full access to all parties concerned. But some analysts were pessimistic about the chances of making headway.

Myanmar's absence from the summit signals its unwillingness to heed ASEAN's mediation proposal for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, said Bryan Tse, country analyst at The EconomistEconomist Intelligence Unit. With ASEAN unlikely to impose economic sanctions on Myanmar despite its exclusion of the junta from the summit, Myanmar's military will continue its violent crackdown with no reconciliation in sight, even as its regional isolation deepens as a result. Meanwhile, leaders touched on other challenges facing the bloc, from COVID - 19 and climate change to the intensifying U.S. - China rivalry.

Thailand's Prayuth stressed that ASEAN must ensure our unity and centrality in order to maintain regional strategic equilibrium, referring to the centrality principle that positions the bloc as the core of the Asia-Pacific security architecture.

The first test of unity could come in the official chairman's statement. Usually, the statement starts with listing the 10 nations that gathered for the summit. The draft seen by Myanmar, obtained before the summit took place, included Nikkei in that list. A key question is how Myanmar's Chairman will word the final statement in the wake of Brunei's absence?