Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said his country is keeping an open stance on the Myanmar peace process.
KUAH: Thailand is open to Asean revising its approach to solving the stalled peace process in Myanmar, says the country’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nikorndej Balankura.
Balankura acknowledged that Asean members have noted that there has been little progress in the grouping’s so-called five-point consensus on Myanmar, prompting some to reconsider the approach.
“It has always been Thailand’s stance that there can be many ways to achieve that goal. And we believe that there’s no one-size-fits-all,” he told FMT.
“As long as we can come to a peaceful and unified Myanmar through a Myanmar-led, Myanmar-owned solution, Thailand is willing to help every Asean chair thus far.”
Asean adopted its five-point plan in April 2021 following a military coup in Myanmar but has struggled to achieve its goals, such as ending violence, holding peace talks, and appointing a special envoy.
Balankura also highlighted the importance of expanding dialogues beyond the military junta currently in control of Myanmar.
“Thailand’s stance … we are open. We are open to more involvement with all parties in Myanmar,” he said, adding that a broader and inclusive dialogue might yield better results.
Thailand has played an active role by hosting informal meetings outside the Asean format involving the past, present, and future Asean chairs.
However, analysts quoted by South China Morning Post said that key stakeholders such as Myanmar’s national unity government and ethnic groups have been excluded from the dialogue.
In November, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim suggested that Asean might need to “carve out” Myanmar from the Asean process to avoid the country’s problems from blocking Asean’s progress. The Philippines will take over the Asean chair next year instead of Myanmar.
