Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Disagreement among ASEAN Member States over The Approach to Take Regarding The Political Situation in Myanmar, 9 January 2023

QUESTION

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to what extent there is disagreement among ASEAN Member States over the approach to take regarding the political situation in Myanmar.

REPLY

1 ASEAN has taken a firm and consistent approach to the situation in Myanmar following the 1 February 2021 coup. The Five-Point Consensus was formulated by the ASEAN Leaders and accepted by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at their meeting on 24 April 2021 in Jakarta. However, ASEAN remains deeply disappointed with the limited progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. Accordingly, the ASEAN Leaders reaffirmed the Five-Point Consensus at the ASEAN Summits in November 2022, and agreed on a series of steps to send a clear signal to the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw.

2 ASEAN continues to urge the Tatmadaw to implement the Five-Point Consensus swiftly and fully, and cooperate with ASEAN and the next ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar to make tangible progress, including by giving the Special Envoy access to all concerned parties in Myanmar.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

9 JANUARY 2023