Is progress on Myanmar possible in 2022?

Unclear motive: Hun Sen (left) poses for photographs together with Myanmar State Administration Council Chairman, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, before their meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Jan 7. – AP

AS other pressing issues have begun to dominate the agenda of many South-East Asian countries, it is a bit concerning to note how there has been no noticeable progress regarding the resolution of the Myanmar crisis.

Asean has not been able to push the junta to move even an inch toward the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (FPC) issued at the emergency Asean summit back in April 2021. The junta continues to ruthlessly perpetrate brutal violence against its own people. Consequently, the relevance and utility of the FPC as the basis for Asean’s approach to solving the Myanmar problem are now at stake.