LABUAN BAJO: Southeast Asian nations are at a \u201ccrossroad,\u201d a senior Indonesian minister warned Tuesday, as escalating violence in junta-controlled Myanmar loomed over a regional summit.<\/p>\n
Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s government more than two years ago and unleashed a bloody crackdown on dissent.<\/p>\n
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) \u2014 long-decried by critics as a toothless talking shop \u2014 has led diplomatic attempts to resolve the crisis, Arab media reported.<\/p>\n
But those efforts have been fruitless, as the junta ignores international criticism and refuses to engage with its opponents, which include ousted lawmakers, anti-coup \u201cPeople\u2019s Defense Forces\u201d and armed ethnic minority groups.<\/p>\n
An air strike on a village in a rebel stronghold last month that reportedly killed about 170 people sparked global condemnation and worsened the junta\u2019s isolation.<\/p>\n
It also fueled calls for ASEAN to take tougher action to end the violence or risk being sidelined.<\/p>\n
\u201cASEAN is at a crossroad,\u201d Mahfud MD, Indonesia\u2019s coordinating minister for politics, legal and security, warned Tuesday on the first day of the summit.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrisis after crisis is testing our strength as a community. And failure to address them would risk jeopardizing our relevance,\u201d he said according to a copy of his remarks, listing Myanmar among the emergencies facing the bloc.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that last month\u2019s air strike in the central Sagaing region was a \u201clikely war crime,\u201d and urged ASEAN to \u201csignal its support for stronger measures to cut off the military\u2019s cash flow and press the junta for reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pressure on the regional bloc increased Sunday after a convoy of vehicles carrying diplomats and officials coordinating ASEAN humanitarian relief in Myanmar came under fire.<\/p>\n
Few details have been released about the shooting in eastern Myanmar\u2019s Shan State, but a foreign diplomat in Yangon said diplomats from the embassies of Indonesia and Singapore were in the group.<\/p>\n
Singapore confirmed two staff members from its embassy in Yangon were in the convoy but unharmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSingapore condemns this attack,\u201d its foreign ministry said late Monday.
\nIndonesia, the ASEAN chair this year, has not yet said if its diplomats were in the vehicles.<\/p>\n
The shooting happened days before the May 9-11 ASEAN summit on the Indonesian island of Flores, where foreign ministers and national leaders will continue efforts to kick-start a five-point plan agreed upon with Myanmar two years ago after mediation attempts to end the violence failed.<\/p>\n
The foreign ministers held talks Tuesday while their countries\u2019 leaders were scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the arrival of officials in Labuan Bajo, the army deployed more than 9,000 personnel and warships to the small fishing town that serves as the entrance to Komodo National Park, where tourists can see the world\u2019s largest lizards.<\/p>\n
In her opening remarks Tuesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the ministers had already discussed \u201cthe implementation\u201d of the peace plan, but she did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
A Southeast Asian diplomat said that Sunday\u2019s shooting \u201craises the urgency of Myanmar as a key discussion point at this summit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The US State Department said it was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about the shooting and urged the junta to \u201cmeaningfully implement the Five-Point Consensus.\u201d
\nMyanmar remains an ASEAN member but has been barred from top-level summits due to the junta\u2019s failure to implement the peace plan.<\/p>\n
Marsudi said Friday that her country was using \u201cquiet diplomacy\u201d to speak with all sides of the Myanmar conflict and spur renewed peace efforts.<\/p>\n
ASEAN has long been criticized for its inaction, but its initiatives are limited by its charter principles of consensus and non-interference.<\/p>\n
US-based analyst Zachary Abuza said the group was unlikely to offer more than \u201canother milquetoast statement of condemnation\u201d despite Sunday\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad a diplomat been killed, there would have been more pressure on the organization to do something, but frankly they\u2019ve been so feckless in the past two years that it\u2019s hard to see them actually acting in a meaningful way,\u201d Abuza said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LABUAN BAJO: Southeast Asian nations are at a \u201ccrossroad,\u201d a senior Indonesian minister warned Tuesday, as escalating violence in junta-controlled Myanmar loomed over a regional summit. Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s government more than […]<\/p>\n
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