MANILA: Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has raised concerns about Asean’s recent engagement with Myanmar’s military-appointed government, warning that the regional bloc’s move toward what the group described as “calibrated reengagement” risks legitimizing military rule without delivering meaningful gains for the Myanmar people.
The statement came days after Asean foreign ministers held an informal meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister U Tin Maung Swe in Bangkok on Sunday (July 12).
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, the Asean chair, led the meeting, the first in-person gathering between Asean foreign ministers and their Myanmar counterpart since the military seized power in 2021.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the meeting followed a directive from Southeast Asian leaders during the 48th Asean Summit in Cebu to continue discussions on “constructive and principled engagement” with Myanmar while remaining guided by the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), Asean’s framework for addressing the country’s political crisis.
Asean engagement
The DFA said the ministers received a briefing from Tin Maung Swe on developments in Myanmar and exchanged views on Asean’s engagement with the country, including possible steps to end violence, promote constructive dialogue among concerned parties and expand humanitarian assistance in line with the 5PC.
Lazaro also held a bilateral meeting with Tin Maung Swe, during which they discussed advancing the implementation of the 5PC and how Asean could assist Myanmar in its aspiration to normalize relations with the regional bloc, according to the DFA.
During the informal meeting, Myanmar’s foreign minister also briefed his Asean counterparts on what the DFA described as the government’s efforts to implement action points under the 5PC, its 100-day Peace Plan and measures to address transnational crimes.
The DFA said Asean foreign ministers reaffirmed the 5PC as “the main reference” in addressing the situation in Myanmar and emphasised the need for “concrete and measurable progress” in implementing the framework.
The department also said Lazaro committed to leading a humanitarian mission to Myanmar in the fourth quarter of the year to expand access to communities needing assistance. It added that the proposal received the support of stakeholders.
On July 13, Lazaro, in her capacity as special envoy of the Asean chair on Myanmar, also met separately with Myanmar ethnic armed organisations and representatives of the National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee in Pattaya to discuss ways to advance an inclusive national political dialogue.
According to the DFA, participants expressed openness to dialogue and underscored the importance of constructive engagement and careful preparation by all parties.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Lazaro said the discussions focused on advancing efforts to end violence, facilitate dialogue, expand humanitarian assistance and strengthen cooperation against transnational crimes.
“We listened to Myanmar’s briefing and shared views on how Myanmar may advance the cessation of violence, facilitation of constructive dialogue, expansion of humanitarian assistance, and concrete cooperation to address transnational crimes in Myanmar,” she said.
“On both occasions, I expressed Asean’s readiness to play a constructive role towards finding a peaceful and lasting solution which is Myanmar-owned and -led,” she added.
Asean parliamentarians raise concerns
APHR, however, said Asean’s latest engagement reflects a shift toward what it described as “calibrated reengagement” with Myanmar’s military-appointed government.
“Asean cannot call this progress. What we are witnessing is the normalisation of a dictatorship, dressed up as diplomatic language. Five years of impunity have not been met with accountability; instead, they have been given a seat at the table,” said Mercy Chriesty Barends, a member of Indonesia’s House of Representatives and chair of APHR.
The regional lawmakers group said references in the Thai chair’s statement to “confidence-building” and “conditions for calibrated reengagement” appear difficult to reconcile with Asean’s continued assertion that the 5PC “remains valid.”
APHR noted that the statement came just days after Myanmar’s Pyidaungsu Hluttaw passed a motion calling on the country’s authorities to review the 5PC.
A news agency, citing the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, reported that the military-dominated parliament urged Myanmar’s new government to counter the Asean peace framework, describing it as interference in the country’s internal affairs.
APHR said the development stood in contrast to Asean’s continued description of the 5PC as its “primary reference” for addressing the crisis.
The organisation also pointed to differing positions among Asean member states, saying public reaffirmations of the 5PC by Singapore and Malaysia underscore divisions within the regional bloc over its Myanmar policy.
Calls for measurable progress
Following the Bangkok meeting, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also underscored the need for concrete progress under the 5PC.
“The most important point was that we all reaffirmed the central importance of the Five Point Consensus — it was and it remains valid. The next point is that all of us want to see demonstrable progress,” Balakrishnan said in remarks reported by The Straits Times.
He said Singapore wanted to see concrete progress, including a permanent cessation of violence, the release of political detainees — including former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi — and humanitarian assistance reaching all parts of Myanmar, including areas outside military control.
The Straits Times also reported that Lazaro told Asean ministers that Tin Maung Swe had informed them Suu Kyi was in “good health” and had access to health care.
For people in Myanmar, APHR said, the latest diplomatic engagement is unlikely to change conditions on the ground as military offensives continue and disparities in security between urban and rural communities widen.
The group urged Asean to ensure that any future engagement with Naypyidaw is measured against commitments under the 5PC, including “an immediate end to violence, constructive dialogue among all parties, including pro-democracy groups, and unimpeded provision of humanitarian assistance.” - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
