ASEAN ministers meet as Myanmar crisis tests bloc's unity

ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday (12 July) held a retreat expected to address an intensifying conflict in army-ruled Myanmar, as cracks appear in the regional bloc over a two-year-old peace process that has yet to get off the ground.

The gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta comes as patience wears thin among its 10 members over Myanmar's military rulers' refusal to halt hostilities and start an inclusive dialogue, as agreed to by its top general in April 2021.

Myanmar has been beset by fighting since the military seized power in early 2021 before unleashing a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy opponents, which prompted a wave of retaliatory attacks by a resistance movement and ethnic minority armies.

ASEAN has barred the junta from its summits for failing to implement the so-called "five-point consensus", the only diplomatic process in play for achieving peace in Myanmar, where the United Nations estimates 1.5 million people have been displaced.

Thailand's caretaker government last month proposed re-engaging with the junta leadership at a meeting that was shunned by most ASEAN foreign ministers.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Wednesday said the agreed peace plan should remain ASEAN's focus.

"Any other efforts must support the implementation of the five-point consensus," she said.

Rizal Sukma, an international relations expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, said it was crucial that ASEAN stick with its plan.

"It provides legitimacy for ASEAN to get engaged in this issue, not to mention intervene," Sukma said.

"Without the five-point consensus, there is no basis for the intervention."

ASEAN chair Indonesia is trying to kick-start the process by trying to bring all stakeholders together for talks.

Wednesday's retreat is also expected to discuss the protracted talks on an ASEAN-China code of conduct on the South China Sea, which started in 2017, 15 years after the idea was hatched.

China's coast guard has been accused by the Philippines of "aggressive acts" several times this year, while Vietnam has complained about a Chinese research ship and a flotilla of suspected militia lingering near its offshore energy projects.

China, which claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, maintains it is operating lawfully.

The Jakarta meetings come ahead of Friday's East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, with top diplomats of the United States, Russia and China among those attending.