Thailand starts aid deliveries to Myanmar under plan aimed at managing conflict
Bangkok, Thailand Reuters Thailand started the delivery of aid to military-ruled Myanmar on Monday, in a humanitarian initiative that seeks to pave the way for talks between warring camps after three years of instability and violence triggered by a coup. The first batch of 4,000 relief bags carrying rice, dried food, and other essentials for […]
Essay: ASEAN and the international community still aren’t doing enough for the people of Myanmar
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says it’s time to form a new and robust plan to bring an end to the military junta’s rule…
ASEAN ministers call for unity in tackling Myanmar conflict
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday called for regional unity in addressing an intensifying conflict in Myanmar, amid doubts over the bloc’s capability to implement a two-year-old peace process that has yet to get off the ground. The gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta comes as patience wears thin […]
Myanmar crisis, South China Sea tensions loom over ASEAN meet
Jakarta, IndonesiaReuters South-East Asia’s top diplomats will gather in Indonesia on Tuesday amid pressure to address a bloody political crisis in Myanmar and resolve tensions in the South China Sea where some ASEAN members have overlapping territorial claims with China. The meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comes as […]
ASEAN must hold Myanmar junta accountable – UN expert
Jakarta, IndonesiaReuters South-East Asian neighbours of conflict-riven Myanmar must consider imposing measures to hold its military rulers accountable, a United Nations expert said on Wednesday, adding the bloc is “deadlocked” over how to resolve the ongoing crisis. United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, said the Association of Southeast […]
Myanmar makes no progress on peace; ASEAN needs unity – Indonesia
Abuan Bajo, Indonesia Reuters Myanmar’s ruling military has made no meaningful progress on implementing a peace plan agreed with ASEAN two years ago and the bloc must show unity in deciding how to address the escalating crisis, Indonesia’s president said on Thursday. Joko Widodo, who is chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this […]
ASEAN “strongly condemns” deadly air strike in Myanmar
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters The chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said on Thursday the bloc “strongly condemns” a military air strike this week on a village in Myanmar, which is reported to have killed up to 100 people including civilians. Tuesday’s attack in the Sagaing area was the deadliest in a recent string […]
“Frank” talks on Myanmar dominate ASEAN foreign ministers meeting
Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters The conflict in Myanmar dominated the year’s first meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Jakarta on Friday, with Indonesia’s top diplomat saying that member states had “frank” discussions on the issue. The foreign minister of Indonesia, which chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, said the bloc was pushing for […]
For East Timor President, ASEAN membership a lifelong dream
Sydney, AustraliaReuters It was as a budding diplomat in the 1970s that Jose Ramos-Horta, a man who would go on to win the Nobel prize for his fight for East Timor’s independence, first raised the idea of his country joining South-East Asia’s economic and political bloc. Almost half a century later, his vision appears set […]
ASEAN leaders call for timeline on Myanmar peace
Phnom Penh, CambodiaReuters South-East Asian heads of government on Friday issued a “warning” to Myanmar to make measurable progress on a peace plan or risk being barred from the bloc’s meetings, as social and political chaos escalates in the country. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said that after “little progress” on the five-point peace […]