The Centrality of Indonesia and ASEAN Role on Myanmar Crisis
Myanmar’s Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun ended his speech to the U.N General Assembly on February 26th with a three-finger salute, a gesture inspired by the Hunger Games films which were later adopted by protesters to show defiance against authoritarian rule. Furthermore, he pleaded for international help in restoring democracy in Myanmar while urged fellow members of the United Nations that no country should recognize the Junta Government.
Over a month since the coup in Myanmar, it now becomes the most important issue in Southeast Asia. The threat of Myanmar’s Junta is now so obvious after the bloodiest crackdown took place last Sunday and took a toll on at least 18 protesters’ life. This also manifests the desire for ASEAN to fulfill its central role as a regional institution. ASEAN responds to this challenge will have lasting consequences for its position at the heart of the regional institutional architecture in the region.
Some analysts have shown their skepticism on the role of regional organizations to influence the domestic affairs of their fellow members. ASEAN and its members, have long been criticized on account of its inaction in the face of crisis. ASEAN’s go-to phrase is because their hands are tied due to the principle of noninterference. The principle of noninterference is widely believed to be the core principle upon the relations between the ASEAN member states. This principle was implicitly mentioned in Bangkok Declaration before explicitly stated as one of six fundamental principles in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 1976. This set of principles were meant to be the boundaries of how regional cooperation works prior to the adoption of the ASEAN Charter just in 2007.
However, on multiple occasions,, the principle of noninterference was set aside due to certain concerns. For instance, in 2007, ASEAN leaders agreed to skip Myanmar’s turn to host the ASEAN summit due to concern over its authoritarian regime. In the following year, after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, ASEAN responded to international outrage over terrible management of the crisis by directly engaging with the military government and serving as a channel for aid from the international community. In terms of the current crisis, ASEAN Members most likely will not interfere. However, they will try to quietly influence the Junta. The results of such action might not have been drastic but will be quietly visible. What’s necessary for this to happen is that ASEAN members should have the same message in regards to Myanmar issues. Albeit conveying the same message sounds like an easy task, it isn’t that simple due to the consensus mechanism within the ASEAN Framework. The consensus is considered to be the language of ASEAN’s diplomacy in which it embraces the spirit of equality among its fellow members
Nevertheless, while they trying to influence the Junta, ASEAN and its members risk their goal as they could unintentionally legitimize the very coup while trying to talk to them. The alternatives for such a problem might be to utilize backdoor diplomacy, so instead of sending government officials, member states should rather send non-governmental figures as representatives to talk with the Junta government.
In terms of leadership, ASEAN has a chairmanship rotating every year. Brunei, who currently holds ASEAN Chairmanship, already released a statement calling for “dialogue, reconciliation, and the return to normalcy”. However, the chairmanship isn’t always equal leadership. From the very inception of ASEAN, Indonesia has been considered as a de facto leader of ASEAN. It is due to various reasons, including as the largest country in the region as well as having the biggest population. Thus, it is also why the ASEAN Secretariat was built in Jakarta back in 1981.
The role and the leadership of Indonesia within ASEAN can be seen once more when President Joko Widodo urged for a special meeting of ASEAN in regards to Myanmar following the meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yasin on February 5th. Later in the same month, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi flew to Bangkok to have a three-way talk with Myanmar Junta’s new foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, alongside Thai Foreign Minister, Don Pramudwinai. However, Indonesia realized the underlying risk of unintentionally legitimize in which Foreign Minister Retno carefully addressed Wunna Maung Lwin by name instead of his appointed position on the press briefing. The desired meeting was scheduled to take place virtually on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021. The Diplomat reported that the online meeting is the product of Indonesia’s active diplomacy, this was also concrete evidence of Mrs. Retno’s remarks, “Indonesia choose not to stand still. To do nothing is not an option”.
Indonesia’s role within ASEAN in regards to the Myanmar crisis has become central as the two countries also have a long history of good relations. In the revolution period, while Indonesia was still fighting the Dutch in the late 1940s period, Myanmar supported the Indonesian struggle for independence. Moreover, the two countries have similarities in their political development as both Indonesia and Myanmar have been through a period of military authoritarian rule. These similarities and relations would put Indonesia in an important position upon the development of the Myanmar crisis. ASEAN members, including Indonesia, would stick to the principle of noninterference but would take an extra measure of non-coercive actions to help to influence the Junta. The development of Myanmar’s situation will still be determined by the party within the country hence the results would still be uncertain as we need to wait for the outcome of the ASEAN special meeting to find out what measures ASEAN and its members are willing to take.
Reference:
Arshad, Arlina. “Indonesian foreign minister scraps plan to visit Myanmar; meets Myanmar counterpart in Bangkok” https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesia-says-foreign-ministers-planned-visit-to-myanmar-not-going-ahead
Connelly, Aaron. “The Coup in Myanmar and the Threat to ASEAN Centrality”. International Institute for Strategic Studies. https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2021/03/coup-myanmar-asean
Indonesia Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia — Press Briefing on the Outcome of the Visit to Bangkok”. https://kemlu.go.id/portal/en/read/2192/berita/minister-for-foreign-affairs-of-indonesia-press-briefing-on-the-outcome-of-the-visit-to-bangkok
Mathur, Sahil. “Myanmar’s Coup D’Etat: What Role for ASEAN” The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2021/02/myanmars-coup-detat-what-role-for-asean/
Nichols, Michelle. “Myanmar’s UN envoy makes emotional appeal for action to stop coup”. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-un/myanmars-u-n-envoy-makes-emotional-appeal-for-action-to-stop-coup-idUSKBN2AQ2FX?il=0
Strangio, Sebastian. “ASEAN Prepares to convene First Meeting on Myanmar Crisis”. The Diplomat.https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/asean-prepares-to-convene-first-meeting-on-myanmar-crisis/
Thiha, Aung. “To ASEAN: Support the Elected Government, not the Military Junta”. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2021/03/01/insight-to-asean-support-the-elected-government-not-the-military-junta.html?utm_campaign=os&utm_source=mobile&utm_medium=ios
Wanandi, Jusuf. “Myanmar Matters to ASEAN, Indonesia”. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2021/03/02/insight-myanmar-matters-to-asean-indonesia.html?utm_campaign=os&utm_source=mobile&utm_medium=ios
