Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday hailed “significant” steps to engage warring sides in Myanmar, as Southeast Asian leaders met for talks to address the protracted conflict and offset global trade uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening rebellion and conflict that has displaced more than 3.5 million people, according to the U.N.
Leaders from the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), were expected to discuss ways to jumpstart ASEAN’s faltering Myanmar peace process and build on recent efforts by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the bloc’s current chair, to bring rival groups to the table.
Anwar last month held a closed-door meeting in Bangkok, Thailand with Myanmar regime leader Min Aung Hlaing and virtual talks with the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) describing those on Monday as “significant”, but fragile.
“We have been able to move the needle forward in our efforts for the eventual resolution of the Myanmar crisis,” he said while opening the summit on May 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“I wish to stress that throughout this process, quiet engagement has mattered. The steps may be small and the bridge may be fragile but as they say, in matters of peace, even a fragile bridge is better than a widening gulf.”
The regime in Myanmar aims to hold an election later this year, which critics have widely derided as a one-sided sham to keep the military in power through proxies. ASEAN has yet to discuss a common position on the election.
ASEAN’s top diplomats held special meetings on Myanmar at the weekend, where Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stressed a lot of negotiating was needed and said he would visit Myanmar next month.
The ministers agreed to discuss creating a permanent ASEAN envoy for Myanmar, possibly for terms of three years, rather than changing envoys each year, he added.
Thailand’s foreign minister last week said he intends to propose broader international engagement with the regime in Naypyidaw, which remains barred from ASEAN summits over its failure to follow the peace plan.
This is known as the ASEAN Five Point Consensus, which was agreed to by Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021, but never implemented upon his return to Myanmar.
REUTERS
