Singapore. ASEAN members are sticking to their “five-point consensus” on the Myanmar crisis in the first foreign ministerial talks since the 2021 coup, despite setbacks in the Burmese parliament.

The weekend saw Myanmar’s Foreign Minister, U Tin Maung Swe, meet with some of his ASEAN counterparts in Bangkok.

Myanmar’s military had seized power in February 2021, ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging the country into a civil war. 

Throughout the years, ASEAN has always clung to the “five-point consensus” in responding to the crisis, and that remains unchanged, as seen in the Bangkok talks. This is a peace plan agreed by ASEAN members not long after the coup, which includes calls to bring together all conflicting factions to negotiate a solution. The Myanmar parliament recently passed a motion rejecting the peace plan, although ASEAN has no intention of changing its stance.

“An inclusive national dialogue, one that involves all parties, is key in achieving a lasting peace and national reconciliation,” Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono was quoted as saying in a press statement.

“Any durable solution must be Myanmar-owned and Myanmar-led. Indonesia stands ready to build a bridge towards that goal.”

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also told reporters that the parliamentarians are “entitled to their opinion” when asked about the refusal, as seen in a ministerial transcript.  He also dismissed concerns over inviting Myanmar back into its gathering despite the sluggish progress in the consensus.

“We are trying to engage with all stakeholders, [including] the military authorities in Nay Pyi Taw, … the ethnic armed organizations, and the People’s Defense Force,” Balakrishnan said.

In a separate presser, his Thai counterpart, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, said that Bangkok was more focused on moving beyond repeated calls for Myanmar to follow the peace plan.

“We are thinking about how to implement [it]. We are engaging, but we are not abandoning the principles of the five-point consensus,” Phuangketkeow said.

He went on to say that ASEAN would not take a one-sided approach, unveiling plans to meet “other key stakeholders” aside from U Tin Maung Swe.

Earlier this year, the junta chief Min Aung Hlaing formalized his grip on political power by becoming the president after an election that critics slam as a sham. ASEAN has largely frozen Myanmar out since the military takeover.

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