MMNN translated the FB post of Hla Soewai
Translator’s note: “Kept at the back burner” means to temporarily set something aside as a lower priority while you deal with more urgent matters. The phrase comes from cooking, where a pot is placed on a back burner to keep it warm without needing immediate attention. It implies that the task is not abandoned but will be revisited later.
Although US President Donald J. Trump met with ASEAN leaders in Kuala Lumpur, they all congratulated and honoured only their achievement of concluding the Thailand-Cambodia peace treaty — yet so far there is no sign that President Trump has paid any attention to the Myanmar issue.
Even though the Myanmar problem should be a headache for ASEAN leaders, Trump has not criticized them — which itself is something to ponder. Choosing silence may actually be the better part of wisdom.
To this day, they are still debating whether to send an envoy to the Myanmar elections, whether the role of Special Ambassador should rotate annually among member states, or whether instead one person should be appointed for a fixed three-year term. Apart from these five point consensus proposal, hopes of introducing new initiatives have already been fading.
The international community is becoming disappointed at ASEAN’s inability to take meaningful responsive action. The Australian ABC news service reported this.
Earlier this month the EU’s high representative urged ASEAN to clearly adopt a new path on Myanmar.
Since Myanmar is a hotbed of regional instability, ASEAN should regard it as a serious concern. However, from the very beginning the ASEAN DNA did not include the capacity to take action against a member country; unlike the EU, ASEAN does not require its members to implement human rights, democracy and rule of law before membership. According to Dr. William J. Jones, a senior lecturer in international relations at Mahidon University in Bangkok, the key requirement for membership in ASEAN, as set out in the 1967 Declaration, is only that the member have a proper geographical status.
Yet Myanmar is no longer resolving its own problem; instead, it appears to rely on powerful foreign states as guarantors. That in itself is a problem. Still, at least it has reached a stage where it is trying to handle things in a don’t-care-too-much but watchful manner.
Although Min Aung Hlaing seized power and was barred from attending the summit, he has somehow managed to become emboldened and less constrained.
Regarding the Myanmar matter, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Brunei have not taken firm stands, Thailand supports Myanmar, and Malaysia and the remaining states wished to solve the problem. It is said that they cannot agree on what to do.
The junta, knowing it is in this position, has gone to Russia and China for arms and money, confident that ASEAN cannot punish them.
Now Min Aung Hlaing has gone a step further and said that his illegal regime will hold elections; ASEAN is being squeezed. He has invited ASEAN to come and observe, but it will not be a full nationwide election managed by themselves — only in the areas they control.
At this moment people are watching to see how ASEAN will decide on that issue, and although Myanmar is flaring up, ASEAN still appears to be sitting on the fence.
