ASEAN progress on Myanmar slower than hoped for: Singapore FM

22 August 2021
ASEAN progress on Myanmar slower than hoped for: Singapore FM
Singapore's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan. Photo: EPA

The progress by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Myanmar has not been as effective as hoped, Singapore's foreign minister told Reuters yesterday.

The United Nations, the United States, and many other countries have urged ASEAN, whose 10 members include Myanmar, to restore stability through diplomacy in the crisis-ridden state.

"(ASEAN is) not as effective or as quick as we would have hoped for. But this is a difficult situation," Vivian Balakrishnan told Reuters.

A five-point consensus what worked out by ASEAN IN April in an attempt to tackle the crisis, including a call to appoint a special envoy to Myanmar. That was achieved in August with the appointment of Brunei's second minister for foreign affairs.

The crisis in Myanmar continues to worsen, compounded by the challenges of tamping down the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Over 1,000 Myanmar citizens have been killed as a result of the clampdown by Myanmar security forces.

Balakrishnan told Reuters that he hoped there would be progress to report on the envoy's visit before the ASEAN leaders' summit in November. But he expressed caution that the military had to grant the envoy access to all stakeholders for the visit to be meaningful.