ASEAN Faces Grave Myanmar Crisis But Can't Do Much About It

Six months after the army seized power in Myanmar, the situation in the country "remains of grave concern," Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told his counterparts in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Photo Insert: The economic community flags of the ASEAN

Balakrishnan told a video conference chaired by Brunei that he wants "swift and effective implementation" of an April ASEAN plan which aimed to address civil conflict in Myanmar, where coup leader and army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Sunday declared himself prime minister, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Speaking from the US, Indonesia's Retno Marsudi restated requests made at previous meetings that the bloc sends an envoy to Myanmar, itself an ASEAN member-state, which means it can veto the group's statements and policies.

"Indonesia hopes that Myanmar will immediately approve ASEAN's proposal for the appointment of a special envoy," Retno said

ASEAN usually operates by having agreeing on a consensus among its 10 members - a formula that stymied effective sanctioning of Myanmar after it joined in 1997 until the military relinquished power in 2011 for what turned out to be a decade.

The bloc, which was founded in 1967, has again been criticized for effectively acknowledging the junta as the legitimate government in Myanmar by allowing its leaders to take part in meetings, including with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

ASEAN's foreign ministers plan later this week to hold further discussions with Blinken, as well as ministers from China, Japan, and the European Union, among others, with Myanmar likely to remain high on the agenda along with the coronavirus pandemic and China-US tensions.

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