SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Oct 26) urged Myanmar's military authorities to cooperate "fully and expeditiously" with a special envoy deployed as part of Asean's attempts to mitigate an ongoing bloody crisis in the country.
Noting that "progress has been slow" on the implementation of an earlier peace deal by the regional grouping that included granting the envoy - Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof - access to concerned parties in Myanmar to facilitate mediation, PM Lee said: "This has real consequences for the people of Myanmar and Asean's credibility as a rules-based organisation."
He was speaking at a virtual Asean summit of regional leaders, with Myanmar's seat empty after the 10-member bloc made the rare decision to sideline ruling military chief Min Aung Hlaing for failing to end hostilities and initiate dialogue in his country.
Myanmar's ruling military, which rebuffed an invitation to send a non-political figure instead, has killed and arrested thousands in violent crackdowns since a February military takeover.
"We remain concerned about the situation in Myanmar," said PM Lee. "Singapore strongly supports Asean's efforts to assist Myanmar in a positive, peaceful and constructive manner."
He added that the Republic backs the "difficult but necessary" decisions made to uphold Asean's credibility during this challenging time.
In the meantime, Asean countries should continue providing much needed humanitarian assistance to the Myanmar people through the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management, he said.
In his speech, PM Lee also urged Asean to uphold its principles of unity and centrality when engaging major powers, take a common position on key global issues while respecting diverse views, and to remain a neutral platform to work with external partners.
"We have and will continue to face difficult challenges from geopolitical tensions and competition between the major powers. We need to respond effectively to these challenges," he noted. "(Asean) must keep its role as the centre of an open and inclusive regional architecture."
PM Lee said Singapore has been clear and consistent in advocating the advancement of regional economic engagement and facilitation of trade, investment and connectivity, as well as respect and support for a rules-based global order anchored in international law.
We hope that any new security arrangements will contribute constructively to regional peace and stability," he added. "Our external partners have a long history of dialogue and cooperation with us. It is important that we always be even-handed in our engagements with them."
Asean's "centrality" in the regional security architecture has come under scrutiny since Australia, Britain and the United States announced last month a defence pact that includes providing Canberra with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
Aukus, as the pact is known, has divided opinion among Asean countries, while China has slammed the deal - widely viewed as a response to Chinese militarisation particularly in the South China Sea - as a threat to regional stability.
