THE deepening crisis in Myanmar remains to be a “main worry” among the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), President Marcos Jr. said last Sunday as he expressed hope that it would be resolved at the soonest time possible.
The President, in an interview with the Philippine media delegation in Cambodia, said that while there had been a Five Point Consensus agreement between Myanmar and the Asean, it had not been followed.
Marcos said that during discussions on the issue, there were suggestions to either remove Myanmar from the regional group or not to invite it to future gatherings while there were some who insisted that Myanmar be made to follow the provisions of the five-point consensus agreement.
“I said, talk to everyone. Talk to those in position, to those in power, down to the smallest, everyone is interested, let us talk to them, let us talk about it. So that was, all of us came down on different, slightly different positions along the entire spectrum of completely kicking Myanmar out from ASEAN and for engaging them fully,” he said.
Asean Leaders, in a statement, said little progress has been achieved in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) that was set in April 2021 in a bid to solve the Myanmar crisis, and it is “incumbent on the Myanmar Armed Forces to comply with its commitments to the Asean Leaders.”
It added that Asean remains committed in assisting Myanmar to find a peaceful and durable solution to the ongoing crisis.
