LABUAN BAJO – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday called for “unity in Asean to chart our way forward” in resolving the crisis in military-controlled Myanmar, acknowledging that “no significant progress” has been made in the peace plan.

Escalating violence in Myanmar has dominated talks at the two-day Asean Summit held in Labuan Bajo, in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, with Asean leaders condemning Sunday’s attack by unknown assailants on a humanitarian convoy carrying diplomats.

Chairing the retreat session on Thursday – the second and final day of the summit – the President said Indonesia continues to make efforts to move forward the implementation of the Asean five-point consensus through engagements with various parties to create inclusive dialogue, distribution of humanitarian assistance and calling an end to the violence.

“However, I have to be honest… there’s been no significant progress in the implementation of the five-point consensus, so unity in Asean is needed to chart our way forward,” he told his counterparts of the 10-nation regional bloc.

The consensus was forged by Asean in April 2021 as a way of trying to resolve the crisis triggered by the Myanmar military’s coup in February the same year, which has seen thousands of civilians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The peace plan called for a dialogue among all parties, an immediate halt to violence in Myanmar, the appointment of an Asean special envoy to facilitate mediation, Asean provision of humanitarian assistance, and a visit by an Asean delegation to Myanmar to meet all concerned parties.

Mr Widodo, or Jokowi as he is better known, stressed that the issue of Myanmar will not hinder efforts in community building in Asean as that is “one of the things people in Asean expect and have been waiting for”.

The President also touched on the implementation of the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), urging “concrete and inclusive cooperation” to reduce tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

He said that one way is through forging concrete cooperation with partner countries.

The AOIP, introduced at Asean’s June 2019 summit, is a five-page report providing Asean a guide to ramp up cooperation and development in Indo-Pacific.

It was released in response to greater strategic competition between the two superpowers, the United States and China, among other things.