Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi Affirms Myanmar Doesn't Have To Send Representatives To The ASEAN Summit, Here's The Explanation

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. (Dock Between)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Myanmar should not be represented at the political level at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit scheduled for October 26-28.

He made this statement during an emergency meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers which was held virtually, Friday night, October 15, which, among other things, discussed the exclusion of the participation of the Myanmar junta leader in the ASEAN Summit, in view of the unresolved political crisis in the country.

"Indonesia proposes that Myanmar's participation in the summit should not be represented at the political level until Myanmar restores democracy through an inclusive process," Foreign Minister Retno said via Twitter.

During the meeting, Retno Marsudi also underlined that there was no significant progress in implementing the Five-Point Consensus agreed by ASEAN leaders to help resolve the crisis in Myanmar.

The consensus includes dialogue with all parties, humanitarian access, and the cessation of all acts of violence.

Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore also expressed support for Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing not to be included in the ASEAN summit.

Meanwhile, Thailand voiced a more conciliatory stance by stating that Thailand views Myanmar as a member of the ASEAN family.

The exclusion of Min Aung Hlaing from the ASEAN summit would be a major step for the association, which has a policy of not interfering in each other's internal affairs and has long used no sanctions or other crackdowns to isolate Myanmar.

Although not officially recognized as the leader of ASEAN, Min Aung Hlaing was invited to a leaders' meeting last April when the Five-Point Consensus was agreed. The army general's presence angered members of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in a February 1, 2021 coup.

This is the statement by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi regarding Myanmar's participation in the ASEAN Summit which will be held in the near future.