A statement issued on the first day of the bloc’s 40th and 41st Summits stressed that the situation in Myanmar remains critical and fragile, with escalating violence affecting not only Myanmar but also the building efforts of the ASEAN community.

According to the communiqué, little progress has been made in implementing the Five Point Consensus (5PC) established in April 2021 in Indonesia to find a way out of the crisis.

The ASEAN leaders entrusted the foreign ministers of their respective member States to develop an implementation plan for the 5PC.

The consensus calls for an end to violence, constructive dialogue among all parties, the appointment of a special ASEAN envoy to mediate in the talks, humanitarian assistance from the bloc, and a visit by the special envoy to the country.

It also calls on all parties involved to reduce tensions and exercise maximum restraint and stresses that those interested in bearing arms must be held accountable and convicted of violence, considering that the Armed Forces are the largest military force in Myanmar.

The document makes a general call to facilitate the work of the ASEAN General Secretariat and the Coordination Center for Humanitarian Assistance in Disaster Management in delivering aid to all those in need, without discrimination.

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