ASEAN to meet in Bangkok to discuss Myanmar next week

ASEAN foreign ministers will meet in Bangkok next week to discuss the crisis in their fellow member nation Myanmar, Indonesia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat has said, adding that his foreign minister Sugiono is expected to attend.

At the invitation of Laos, the current ASEAN chair, attendees at the meeting on December 20 will discuss possible approaches to the crisis, which has gripped Myanmar since the 2021 military coup, including the implementation of ASEAN's five-point consensus plan, he said.

The consensus plan has made scant progress since its unveiling in April 2021, just months after Myanmar's military unseated the elected government.

The junta has been battling a rebellion that erupted after the coup and has largely ignored calls by its Southeast Asian neighbours to cease hostilities and enter into dialogue with its opponents.

During an ASEAN summit in October, the bloc called for "an immediate cessation" of violence and the creation of a "conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue" which would be "Myanmar-owned and -led".

During the ASEAN Summit in Laos in October, Thai foreign minister Maris Sangiampongsa offered to host informal talks in December, to try to find a way of resolving the Myanmar crisis.

Maris told member states that Thailand is ready to host an extended informal consultation on the situation, following consultation with the current ASEAN chair.

ASEAN leaders agreed at the summit that Myanmar remains of primary concern and that all member states wish to see peace restored to the country.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Strategic Policy, a Bangkok-based think tank and policy research institute, will host a meeting, entitled “Myanmar and Thailand Relations at the Crossroads”, this Monday.

Former Thai foreign minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara and Sihasak Phuangketkeow, former Thai foreign vice minister and a centre committee member, will also attend.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee will present a paper, “Myanmar and Thailand Relations at the Crossroads: A Strategic Policy Recommendation”, which will be reviewed by Gen Nipat Thonglek, assistant to the prime minister’s office minister and Lalita Hanwong, a lecturer at Kasetsart University.