ASEAN Yet To Reach Consensus On Recognising Myanmar Elections
By Linda Khoo
CEBU (Philippines), May 6 (Bernama) – ASEAN has yet to reach a consensus with regard to recognising the results of Myanmar’s elections.
This comes after former military leader Min Aung Hlaing assumed office as president in April and formalised his grip on power, five years after a February 2021 military coup that ousted the country’s democratically elected government and triggered unrest and violence.
The country conducted its elections in phases last year against this backdrop of political instability. The first round of voting was held on Dec 28 last year, followed by subsequent rounds on Jan 11 and Jan 25. A pro-military party secured victory.
The crisis in Myanmar has remained a key focus of ASEAN discussions since the military coup.
ASEAN Spokesperson Dominic Xavier M. Imperial said the regional grouping is guided by the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) in its engagement with Naypyidaw, and the position has not changed.
“However, there is continued engagement within ASEAN, not only by the Philippines as chair but also by individual ASEAN member states in their respective relations with Myanmar,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
He added that the bloc is closely monitoring developments, particularly progress in implementing the 5PC.
Adopted in April 2021, the 5PC calls for the cessation of violence, inclusive dialogue among all parties, the appointment of an ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar to to facilitate mediation, humanitarian assistance, and for the special envoy to engage all stakeholders in the Myanmar crisis.
On Myanmar’s representative at the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, Imperial, who is also the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary, said the permanent secretary of Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry, U Hau Khan Sum, would attend the summit.
“He is their (Myanmar’s) sole representative, not the foreign minister,” he said.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow reportedly planned to invite his Myanmar counterpart to a meeting with top regional diplomats. “This would be another meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting,” Sihasak told Reuters in an interview.
-- BERNAMA
