They could instigate terrorism and violence in the country, hinder the Myanmar government’s counter-terrorism efforts and violate international agreements related to counter-terrorism, the Foreign Ministry said.

The junta’s Foreign Ministry added that it “protests and rejects” comments by Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, who called for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to informally engage with the shadow government.

We are not proposing that Asean recognize other governments, but such informal engagement may be conceivable, especially on how humanitarian aid can be delivered to the Myanmar people still in their country, Saifuddin said.

The diplomat lamented that there was “no progress” in implementing the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus for the resolution of Myanmar’s conflicts.

However, the junta’s official statement expresses its total opposition to the suggestion to give legitimacy to the government formed last April by members of the ousted administration in February 2021 and representatives of various ethnic groups.

pgh/arm/mem/lp