ASEAN tells Myanmar’s military rulers that peace should be the priority, not elections ASEAN News

Myanmar has been experiencing unrest since early 2021, when its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Southeast Asian countries have told Myanmar’s military government that its plan to hold elections amid an escalating civil war should not be a priority, urging it to begin dialogue and end hostilities immediately.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called on Sunday Warring parties Host Malaysia’s foreign minister told Myanmar, a member state, to stop the fighting and asked its representative to allow unimpeded humanitarian access.

“Malaysia wants to know what Myanmar is thinking,” Mohamed Hassan said in a press conference after a ministerial meeting on the island of Langkawi.

Hassan said Myanmar – which is represented by a low-level Foreign Ministry official after its military leaders were banned from attending official ASEAN meetings – briefed the gathering on plans to hold general elections this year. But he added that the bloc wants the Myanmar government to ensure peace before any elections are held.

We said that the elections must be comprehensive. He added: “Elections cannot be isolated, but must include all stakeholders.” “We told them that elections are not our priority. Our priority is to stop the violence.”

Myanmar has been experiencing unrest since early 2021 when its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking pro-democracy protests that turned into a widespread armed rebellion that has taken control of large swaths of the country.

Despite being battered on multiple fronts, its economy in tatters and dozens of political parties banned, the military government plans to hold elections this year, widely derided by critics as a ploy to keep generals in power through proxies.

Malaysia, which chairs the 10-member bloc this year, announced the appointment of former diplomat Othman Hashim as a special envoy for the crisis in Myanmar, where the United Nations says humanitarian needs are at “alarming levels,” with nearly 20 million people – more… One-third of the population – need help.

Mohamed said that Hashim will visit Myanmar “soon” to convince all parties in Myanmar to implement the five-point peace plan put forward by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has not achieved any progress since it was unveiled months after the coup.

Regional tensions are on the agenda

Hassan said that the meeting also discussed the potential repercussions of the second term of new US President Donald Trump on the region amid its competition with China.

He said the ministers raised concerns that competition between the two superpowers could increase regional tensions. He said the ASEAN ministers stressed the urgent need to strengthen regional unity and make economic integration a top priority amid global uncertainty.

tensions in South China SeaChina, one of the world’s vital shipping lanes with annual trade carried by ships worth about $3 trillion, was at the top of the agenda after violent confrontations in the waters last year.

Vietnam and Malaysia have also protested the behavior of Chinese ships in their exclusive economic zones, which Beijing says operate legally in their waters.

China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. But ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, along with Taiwan, also have overlapping claims.

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have committed to drafting a code of conduct for the South China Sea, but talks have proceeded at a slow pace.

Mohammed said ministers welcomed the progress made so far, but “highlighted the need to continue the momentum to accelerate the Code of Conduct.”

The foreign minister of the Philippines, a key US ally, told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that it was time to start negotiating the thorny “important issues” of the code, including its scope, whether it could be legally binding and its impact on third parties. – Party states.

Hassan said the ministers called for accelerating negotiations between ASEAN and China on a code of conduct in the waterway. He added: “We emphasized that the South China Sea must remain peaceful and stable.”