ASEAN foreign ministers discuss Myanmar crisis

Soldiers have been deployed in Mandalay, Myanmar (Photo: VNA)

The Japanese news agency Kyodo quoted a senior official from an ASEAN member country as saying that all 10 foreign ministers are attending, including Myanmar’s military-appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin.

Brunei, which holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN this year, organised the meeting under the auspices of Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on March 1 that despite ASEAN’s core principle of consensus and non-interference, ASEAN can still play a constructive role in hopefully facilitating a return to normalcy and stability in Myanmar.

During an informal meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on February 26, Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, called on parties in Myanmar to exercise self-restraint, avoid escalating tensions, and conduct dialogue towards reaching a satisfactory solution in line with the Constitution and law as well as public aspirations.

In his opinion, the international community needs to create favourable conditions for the transition to democracy in Myanmar and respect the principles of independence, national sovereignty, and non-interference in countries’ internal affairs while ensuring safe and humanitarian access to key services for Myanmar’s people, especially vulnerable groups.

He stressed that Vietnam wants Myanmar to return to stability soon, for the sake of its development as well as for peace, stability, and cooperation in the region and for ASEAN Community building.