Mizzima Editorial

Controversy has swirled over the recent invitation made by the Thai caretaker government to the Myanmar junta to attend informal ASEAN talks in Bangkok. A number of Myanmar-linked NGOs condemned the secretive meeting which included the illegal Myanmar military junta organized by the outgoing Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai of the caretaker Thai Government on Sunday 18 June. 

As Progressive Voice said: “We are outraged that the Foreign Minister Don stated in his invitation to ASEAN Member States that ASEAN should ‘fully re-engage Myanmar at the leaders’ level’. This decision was never agreed upon by ASEAN Member States, nor did the Indonesian Government, the incumbent Chair of ASEAN, initiate this meeting. In organizing this meeting, the caretaker Government of Thailand is acting without the mandate and any consultation with the ASEAN Chair.” 

The NGO said that as a member state of ASEAN, Thailand must not deviate from the bloc’s agreement – the Five-Point Consensus, and called for a halt to the meeting. The meeting went ahead. 

On a diplomatic level, the Thai invitation to Myanmar foreign minister Than Shwe threw a spanner in the works of a troubled process by ASEAN to encourage the Myanmar junta to adhere to the agreed Five-Point Consensus in an effort to bring peace to the troubled country. While this agreed consensus has effectively gone nowhere since it was inked two years ago, it does lay out some form of framework that is supposed to put pressure on the Myanmar junta to put down their guns and come to the negotiating table.

The recent Bangkok meeting effectively scuppers any chance of this and throws a carrot to the junta.

The 2021 Myanmar military coup and aftermath have damaged the status and unity of ASEAN – and have proved a reminder that the condition of many ASEAN bloc members leave a lot to be desired in terms of democracy, rights, and governance. Few of the 10-nation bloc can claim clean credentials at this point in time. The Myanmar crisis – and ASEAN’s failure to deal with it - only serves to further muddy ASEAN affairs at a time when world geopolitical affairs are in significant flux.

The timing of the Bangkok meeting left a lot to be desired, given the Bangkok administration is currently acting in a “caretaker capacity” following the recent election that saw the Move Forward Party (MFP) grab the majority of the votes, with the party lining up a coalition to take power – subject to the normal process and constraints. In the wake of the Bangkok meeting, MFP party leader Pita Limjaroenrat called for the setting up of what he termed a “Myanmar Inter-Agency Task Force” under the purview of the Thai Prime Minister's Office in order to take more strident steps to deal with the Myanmar crisis.

Responding to the criticism on the day, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the talks were needed as Thailand suffers more than others because it shares more than 3,000 kilometres of land and sea border with Myanmar. "We need to talk, otherwise people will be affected. Today is just a meeting, we did not agree on anything," he said. 

But the spat has once again reminded ASEAN that their approach to the “bully boy” in their ranks needs revision. MFP party leader Pita stepped into the fray with an outline of how his “government-in-waiting” would approach the Myanmar crisis – a crisis that clearly has seriously implications for Thailand – despite the fact Pita is currently on the sidelines waiting. 

What this spat indicates is ASEAN needs to revisit their approach to the Myanmar crisis with a plan that could make progress. Nobody is holding their breath.