ASEAN in Vientiane to overcome Myanmar impasse
At the summit underway in the Laotian capital, Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra proposes an "informal consultation" to find a way out of the conflict. But positions remain distant. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who will take over the rotating presidency in 2025, calls for political cohesion to give “a clear message to the world” overwhelmed by wars and become the world’s “fourth-largest economy by 2030”.
Vientiane (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The leaders of Southeast Asian countries met today in Vientiane for the annual APEC summit that will continue until Friday, with two key issues set to dominate talks, namely the civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea.
ASEAN is a political and economic association of 10 Southeast Asian states: Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, and Laos. Together they have a population of more than 600 million people.
Timor-Leste currently has observer status, which allows it to participate in all ASEAN meetings pending full membership.
The summit also includes a series of separate meetings with representatives of global powers, most notably US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Indian Premier Narendra Modi.
The thorniest issue remains war in Myanmar. So far, the regional bloc has been able to male some progress with its five-point plan for peace approved as early as 2021.
And for the first time since the coup, Myanmar’s ruling junta agreed to send a nonpolitical representative, the condition imposed by other countries to allow Naypyidaw at the summit. The junta’s permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aung Kyaw Moe, is in Vientiane.
Represented by its new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand has called for greater action in this crisis, advancing her country's candidacy to host an "informal consultation" among the 10 member countries in December to find a way out of the conflict.
“ASEAN should send a unified message to all parties in Myanmar that there is no military solution. It is time to start talking," Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra said.
However, planned elections next year remain a stumbling block. To this end, the junta is conducting a census, even though it does not control large swathes of the country. For opposition parties, whose leaders are still in prison, holding a vote under such circumstances is a farce.
At the summit, some members also expressed concern about China's activities in the South China Sea, urging the country to comply with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
"It is a general principle of the adherence to the rule of law," said Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “We will have the chance to get into more details, maybe in the next couple of days.”
Opening the summit, Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, who holds ASEAN’s rotating presidency, underlined the many challenges posed by today's world: from armed conflicts and economic and financial difficulties to climate change and natural disasters, not to mention transnational crimes.
Faced with such a scenario, Southeast Asian countries must uphold the right to autonomy, strengthen cooperation, and take advantage of every opportunity.
“ASEAN must be unflinching and stand resolute in sending a clear message to the world to unite and help deescalate conflicts,” said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who will chair the organisation next year.
“As global tensions continue to rise and polarisation appears to prevail over integration, cracks and divisions within ASEAN run the risk of being exploited to the detriment of ASEAN’s centrality and cohesiveness.”
Anwar also called for boosting regional cooperation, restructuring local economies, and ensuring regional links to the global economy.
“I believe that if we pursue this course with determination and commitment, ASEAN can achieve economic resilience and be on track to become the fourth-largest economy by 2030,” Anwar added.
(Joseph Masilamany contributed to this article)
.png)
12/02/2016 15:14
25/07/2005
15/01/2007
