A CALL TO PROCEED President Marcos, the first from the left in this group photo taken of Southeast Asian leaders at the start of their summit at Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel in the Cambodian capital on Friday, notes the “lack of progress’’ in the implementation of the peace plan for Myanmar since its formulation by the other member states of the regional bloc in April 2021. —REUTERS
PHNOM PENH—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pushed for the immediate implementation of the peace plan agreed to by Southeast Asian leaders as a solution to crisis and “protracted suffering of the people” in Myanmar, a member state of the regional bloc that has been under military rule since February 2021.
Mr. Marcos called for a dialogue between the Myanmar military and the opposition movement, in his intervention speech during the 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Retreat on Friday morning.
“The Philippines thus reiterates the need for the speedy implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), which Myanmar agreed to in the Asean Leaders’ Meeting held in Jakarta in April 2021,” he told the gathering at Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel here, where the Asean Summit and related meetings were being held.
“While the Philippines adheres to the Asean principles of noninterference and consensus, the protracted suffering of the people in Myanmar, in part due to the lack of progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, also challenges the Asean-honored principles of democracy and the respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Asean Charter.”
In October, a special foreign ministers’ meeting was held in Jakarta to discuss the Myanmar conflict, during which foreign ministers came up with a list of recommendations to push forward with the implementation of the 5PC peace plan.
‘Direct engagement’
The 5PC peace plan, which was drawn up in a 2021 summit attended by nine Asean leaders and Myanmar junta chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, agreed on the following steps to be taken: an immediate end to violence in Myanmar, the holding of dialogue among all parties, the appointment of a special envoy, the delivery of humanitarian assistance from Asean and a visit of the special envoy to Myanmar to meet with all parties.
But a year since, Asean observers said the junta leader had defied every point in the 5PC and continued to oversee a brutal crackdown on citizens opposed to military rule.
The Asean is at the forefront of efforts to end the conflict in Myanmar, where military grabbed power last year from the democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has since been incarcerated.
Mr. Marcos stressed that “direct engagement with the government and all stakeholders is vital to ending violence and addressing the crisis in Myanmar.”
“This would include direct engagement with the military administration, but also with all other stakeholders, including the political opposition within the Asean framework towards the full implementation of the Five-Point Consensus,” he added.
‘Increase in violence’
He also called on other Asean leaders to “continue taking a constructive approach in engaging the stakeholders in Myanmar consistent with their shared vision of an Asean, which is people-centered and people-oriented.”
Speaking to reporters here, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu explained that the situation in Myanmar is “very important” not just for the President but to the entire regional bloc. “All the leaders are discussing this because it is worsening in the last several months. There were killings, increase in violence, and although we had progress in the delivery of humanitarian assistance, it’s still a challenge,” he said.
“In a sense, we are still looked up to as being at the forefront of democracy and human rights in the region,” he said.
In an earlier bilateral meeting held on Thursday night at the Peace Palace, Mr. Marcos and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen both agreed that “patience” would be the key to dealing with the Myanmar crisis.
“As you have great experience in this matter, perhaps your advice to be patient, is the best that we can do right now. But we can still do more in terms of engagement in Myanmar. I’m in full agreement with you, Mr. Prime Minister, that that is the way forward,” he told the Cambodian leader.
He also stressed the need to examine the “dynamics” of politics in Myanmar while engaging with the nation “in every way possible.” INQ
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