Malaysia’s efforts to bring peace back to Myanmar are backed by Indonesia

Sugiono, the foreign minister of Indonesia, has said that his country fully supports Malaysia’s efforts as this year’s ASEAN Chair to help end Myanmar’s internal strife peacefully.

During the Extended Informal Consultation on the Implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) held in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, he said again that Indonesia was ready to keep working to help bring democracy and security back to Myanmar.

“ASEAN is strong because it works together.” A statement from the Foreign Ministry on Sunday said, “In the face of the Myanmar crisis, we must speak with one voice and act with one goal to push for the full implementation of the 5PC.”

Before the 46th ASEAN Summit, there was a meeting where ASEAN foreign ministers and special envoys for Myanmar could talk about what was going on in Myanmar and look for ways to make the 5PC work better.

ASEAN agreed to the 5PC in April 2021, after the military takeover in Myanmar on February 1 of that year. It demands that the violence stop right away, that all sides have a conversation, that a special envoy be sent, that humanitarian aid be sent, and that the envoy be able to talk to all the important people in Myanmar.

Despite the agreement’s importance, the junta has yet to implement it. This is still one of the main issues that ASEAN is trying to solve with Myanmar.

The 46th ASEAN Summit is being held with the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability,” which is Malaysia’s theme for 2025 as chairman. This year is also the country’s fifth time leading the regional group. It has been in charge before, in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.

Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, and Indonesia are the 10 countries that make up ASEAN.

Sugiono said again how important it was to fully implement the 5PC and focus on ending violence, increasing humanitarian aid, and making sure that all stakeholders in Myanmar could have a voice in the conversation.

“Indonesia is still fully committed to working for a peaceful solution in Myanmar.” Regional peace can only be reached if ASEAN works together following the ideas of consensus and cooperation, he said.