Hanoi, Vietnam
Reuters
The United States has “deep concerns” about the military coup in Myanmar and called on South-East Asian nations to take action to end violence and restore democracy in the country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
The Association of Southeast Nations has been leading the main diplomatic effort on member country Myanmar since a 1st February coup plunged it into turmoil.
Tyres burn on a street as protests against the military coup continue, in Mandalay, Myanmar, on 27th March. PICTURE: Reuters/Stringer
During a video conference with ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday, Blinken urged ASEAN to take “immediate action” on a five-point consensus, agreed upon in April, to appoint a special envoy to Myanmar, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Myanmar has descended into chaos after the coup, with hundreds of protesters killed by security forces and thousands jailed amid paralysing strikes and spreading conflict in border regions.
Blinken asked for the release of all those “unjustly detained” in the country, and the restoration of Myanmar’s democratic transition, Price said.
Blinken also emphasised the US rejection of China’s “unlawful maritime claims” in the South China Sea and said Washington “stands with South-East Asian claimants in the face of [Chinese] coercion”, Price said.
