ASEAN ministers push stalled peace plan in Myanmar talks

Southeast Asian foreign ministers pressed their Myanmar counterpart for "concrete" progress on a stagnant ASEAN peace plan for the country during a meeting in Bangkok on Sunday, top Thai and Philippine diplomats said.

The meeting between foreign ministers of several members of the 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Myanmar's Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe was the first such gathering since a 2021 military coup in the country.

Myanmar has been diplomatically sidelined within the regional bloc since the country's military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than five years ago, triggering a civil war.

But junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was installed as civilian president in April following highly restricted elections, and neighbouring Thailand has been leading attempts at normalising relations.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told a press briefing on Sunday that his government supported "calibrated engagement" with Myanmar in an effort to implement ASEAN's "five-point consensus" plan aimed at ending the war between the military and a coalition of pro-democracy rebels and ethnic minority armed groups.

But he said it required Myanmar to address the concerns of ASEAN and the international community.

"We have some concrete expectations" with regard to humanitarian assistance, reduction of violence, especially against civilians, and promoting inclusive political dialogue, Sihasak told reporters.

He also urged "further release of political prisoners and further positive development" with regard to 81-year-old Suu Kyi, who remains detained after she was moved from prison to house arrest.

"We want to see progress, step by step," Sihasak said.

- 'Concrete actions' -

But ASEAN has made little headway with its initiative to end Myanmar's civil war through dialogue with all sides.

Myanmar lawmakers -- elected in a vote that did not include rebel-controlled areas or Suu Kyi's party -- blasted the bloc's plan in parliament last week, calling for it to be "reviewed and reconsidered", the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said.

The plan "undermines Myanmar's equality within ASEAN and is inconsistent with ASEAN's fundamental principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of a member state", they said, according to the outlet.

Still, Philippines' Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said she and the bloc stood behind the plan.

Lazaro, who is also the Myanmar special envoy of the ASEAN chair, told reporters that ministers at the meeting in Bangkok hoped Myanmar would take the "opportunity to make concrete and demonstrable progress or benchmarks on the core points of the five-point consensus" -- although no timeline was set.

"ASEAN called for concrete actions towards the cessation of hostilities," she said, adding that she intended to visit Myanmar this year in an effort to expand access to humanitarian assistance in the country.

The five-point plan, which Myanmar and the rest of ASEAN agreed to in 2021, calls for an immediate halt to hostilities and for dialogue between all parties, mediated by the ASEAN envoy.

But consensus among ASEAN members is fraying, analysts say, between those open to seizing on small concessions to bring Myanmar back into the fold -- a group led by Bangkok -- and those maintaining a firmer stance.

The governments of Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam confirmed their foreign ministers' attendance on Sunday, while Malaysia's foreign minister told AFP he could not attend but sent other representatives.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Myanmar's civil war, according to monitor group ACLED.

burs-sco/lga

© Agence France-Presse