ASEAN tells Myanmar’s military rulers peace must be priority, not election | ASEAN news

Myanmar’s military has been in turmoil since early 2021 after toppling the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Southeast Asian countries have called on Myanmar’s military government to start a dialogue and immediately stop hostilities, saying that its plan to hold elections amid the escalating civil war should not be its priority.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) made a call on Sunday warring parties Malaysia’s foreign minister said member country Myanmar should stop fighting and told its representative to allow unimpeded humanitarian aid.

“Malaysia wants to know what Myanmar is thinking,” Mohammad Hassan told a news conference after the ministers’ retreat on Langkawi Island.

Hasan said Myanmar’s plans for this year’s general election, represented by a low-ranking Foreign Ministry official, had been briefed on the meeting after its military leaders were banned from official ASEAN meetings. But the bloc wants the Myanmar government to ensure peace before any elections are held, he said.

“We said that the elections should be comprehensive. “The election cannot be held in isolation, it must involve all interested parties.” “We told them that the election is not our priority. Our priority is to stop the violence.”

Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 after its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking pro-democracy protests that erupted into a widespread armed insurgency that has gripped parts of the country.

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

This year, the chairman of the 10-member bloc, Malaysia, announced the appointment of former diplomat Osman Hashim as the UN’s special envoy for the crisis in Myanmar, which has an “alarming level” of humanitarian needs, where some 20 million people live. more than a third of the population – need help.

Mohamad said Hashem would visit Myanmar “soon” to persuade all parties in Myanmar to implement ASEAN’s five-point peace plan, which has seen no progress since it was announced months after the coup.

Regional tensions on the agenda

Hasan said that the effects of the new US President Donald Trump’s second term in competition with China on the region were also discussed at the meeting.

According to him, the ministers expressed concern that the competition between the two superpowers could increase regional tensions. According to him, the ministers of ASEAN countries emphasized the importance of strengthening regional unity and making economic integration the main priority against the background of global uncertainties.

Tensions South China SeaOne of the world’s most vital shipping routes with an annual shipping trade of approximately 3 trillion dollars, was on the agenda even after the violent conflicts that took place in the waters last year.

Vietnam and Malaysia have also objected to Chinese ships operating in their exclusive economic zones, which Beijing says are operating legally in its 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 ASEAN have committed to drafting a code of conduct for the South China Sea, but talks have moved at a snail’s pace.

Mohamad said the ministers welcomed the progress so far, but “stressed the importance of continuing the momentum to accelerate the code of conduct”.

The foreign minister of the Philippines, a key US ally, told Reuters news agency on Saturday that it was time to start negotiations on the complex “stepping issues” of the code’s scope, whether it is legally binding and its impact on third-party law. -party states.

Hasan said that the ministers called for speeding up negotiations on a code of conduct on waterways between ASEAN and China. “We stressed that the South China Sea must remain peaceful and stable,” he said.