![]() Sane heads should prevail at the summit.” Van den Assum told Al Jazeera that the generals are trying to blackmail East Timor into stopping NUG engagements: “This is a rough wake-up call. Officials from Malaysia and Indonesia have also met its officials, while Japan and South Korea have allowed NUG representative offices to be set up in Tokyo and Seoul, respectively. Continuing violenceĭespite agreeing to a “ five-point consensus” for ending Myanmar’s political crisis in April 2021, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his army have not ceased their violent crackdown and have conducted air attacks as well as mass burnings of villages, actions condemned by the international community.Īccording to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), more than 4,000 protesters and civilians have been killed by the military government and about 20,000 are in detention.Įast Timor is not the only country to meet with the NUG. A key problem is Myanmar’s military regime which has successfully split the organisation,” said Laetitia van den Assum, a veteran diplomat and a former Dutch ambassador to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. “The credibility of ASEAN’s centrality – its leadership in regional cooperation – is under severe stress. ![]() Laos, a small landlocked country heavily dependent on China, is due to take the reins in 2024. ![]() Many hoped that with Indonesia chairing the organisation in 2023, the differences could be addressed, but Jakarta has struggled to maintain cohesion. In a region where the US and China are jostling for influence, ASEAN is struggling to deliver on divisive issues, which are undermining its claim to unite the region and act as a bulwark against big power rivalry. “How can ASEAN matter if it cannot come together to resolve the most crucial and pressing issue in the region? Who is really deciding on ASEAN’s foreign affairs – ASEAN member states or China?” Santiago, a three-term Malaysian lawmaker, added. “ASEAN’s silence on key issues, particularly the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, calls the bloc’s relevance into question,” said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights co-chair, Charles Santiago, in a September 3 statement. The Myanmar regime’s top officials have been barred from ASEAN meetings for failing to implement a plan to end the crisis in the coup-hit country China’s release of a new map depicting its expansive claims has also caused upset. The Philippines last month accused China of using water cannons to attack resupply vessels off Second Thomas Shoal. The bloc also faces continuing challenges over the disputed South China Sea where there has been scant progress on a much-talked-about code of conduct. “The eyes of our peoples are on us to prove ASEAN still matters,” Marsudi said. Then, last month, Myanmar’s coup leaders expelled East Timor’s top diplomat in Yangon after the Timorese joined a long list of countries in meeting with Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), set up by removed and elected lawmakers mostly associated with now jailed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Īddressing ASEAN foreign ministers on Monday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi acknowledged the “many difficult circumstances in the region”, including Myanmar. Thailand’s outgoing military-led government broke ranks with the bloc, which collectively had decided to suspend Myanmar’s generals from top meetings, and embraced the neighbouring country’s regime with support from China. But whether ASEAN can reconcile the differences over Myanmar, and stand up for East Timor and the Philippines, is seen as key to its survival as the pre-eminent diplomatic grouping for Southeast Asia. Leaders will meet from September 5 to 8, in Indonesia’s capital, with United States Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other prominent politicians flying in. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), numbering 10 countries and member-to-be East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, is meeting in Jakarta this week in a summit fraught with difficulty.
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