Thailand is pushing for a greater role for ASEAN in resolving the Myanmar conflict

ANN/THE STAR – Thailand on Friday called on the regional bloc ASEAN to take a more proactive role in resolving the crisis in military-ruled Myanmar, after weeks of border fighting that halted trade and led to a brief influx of refugees.

Myanmar is embroiled in a civil war between the military on one side and a loose alliance of established ethnic minority armies on the other and a resistance movement formed after the junta’s bloody crackdown on dissent following the 2021 coup.

ASEAN came up with a peace plan in 2021 that Myanmar’s generals agreed to, but it has only been partially implemented, causing divisions in the bloc and frustration among its most prominent members.

“We would like to see a more proactive ASEAN,” said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura.

“We have discussed the situation with Laos, as chairman of ASEAN and Myanmar.”

Myanmar resistance fighters and rebels from ethnic minorities captured the main commercial city of Myawaddy on the Myanmar side of the border with Thailand on April 11. This was a blow to a well-equipped army that was struggling to govern and was testing its credibility on the battlefield.

The rebels have since withdrawn their troops after a counter-offensive by government soldiers and the fighting has since subsided. On April 20, 3,000 people fled across the border and all but 100 have since returned, Thailand said.

“The battle between the opposition and the military has moved to Myawaddy… it is very close to Thailand and more needs to be done from the ASEAN side,” Nikorndej added.

Thailand this week proposed an ASEAN meeting on the issue that would include former chairman Indonesia, which had tried to involve the junta’s rivals, plus Laos, and next year’s chairman Malaysia.

Under the 2021 Myanmar Peace Plan, the ASEAN chairman appoints a special envoy charged with advancing the process. The current chairman Laos has made little public mention of his envoy’s activities.

Myanmar’s military, facing its biggest challenge since it first took control of Myanmar in 1962, has been engaged in multiple low-intensity conflicts and has refused to engage with opponents, calling them “terrorists.”