Jakarta (ANTARA) – The safety and welfare of Myanmar’s people had always been Indonesia’s concern amid a political crisis that had protracted for almost a year, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi stated. “From the very start, Indonesia has shown its commitment to contribute,” the minister noted in the 2022 Annual Press Statement (PPTM), here on Thursday.
Marsudi also explained that in this context, Indonesia had provided humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar in September 2021, as part of the ASEAN humanitarian assistance. The minister noted that if the current political crisis continues, stability and security will be disrupted not only in Myanmar but also in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the wider region.
At the suggestion of the Indonesian president, Marsudi noted that ASEAN leaders held a meeting in Jakarta in April 2021 and produced a Five-Point Consensus. “As I mentioned, the Five-Point Consensus will serve as a guide for ASEAN in helping to resolve the political crisis in Myanmar,” the foreign minister noted. However, Marsudi remarked that as long as there was no progress in implementing the Five-Point Consensus, it would be difficult for the ASEAN to invite political-level representatives from Myanmar to participate in the ASEAN meeting. “ASEAN must uphold this joint commitment,” she stated.
Furthermore, the minister noted that for 2022, Indonesia will continue to strive to strengthen ASEAN’s centrality and solidity. “The ASEAN must continue to function as an anchor for stability, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” she affirmed. In addition, Marsudi emphasized that ASEAN must stay relevant and be able to respond appropriately to new challenges in the region and the world. The benefits of ASEAN must be felt by all its people, she stressed. The ASEAN earlier called on Myanmar to sincerely accept and implement the Five-Point Consensus agreed by the member state leaders to address the crisis in the country. “ASEAN is a family, and what we are doing to Myanmar is nothing more than a family helping one of its members. Hence, we would also like to see, on the other hand, Myanmar be sincere as well to welcome the ASEAN member states to help them,” Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN Ade Padmo Sarwono stated during a webinar on “Myanmar Crisis and the Future of ASEAN” here on Tuesday.However, Sarwono revealed that the ASEAN had yet to witness any significant progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus.
“It is very difficult that if someone wants to lend his hand, but the other one does not accept it sincerely. It is difficult to find ways out for solving this matter,” he pointed out. Myanmar is viewed as not being committed to making peace in the country, and the ASEAN did not receive good responses from the country pertaining to the Five-Point Consensus.
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