Jakarta. ASEAN chair Indonesia on Monday revealed that a gunfight had occurred during one of the bloc's recent attempts to deliver humanitarian aid in conflict-torn Myanmar.

“Yesterday, AHA Centre together with ASEAN’s monitoring team were on their way to deliver humanitarian assistance. Unfortunately, a gunfight took place in the middle of the trip,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said at a press briefing in Labuan Bajo on Monday.

Jokowi did not give further details of the gunfight. However, he said the incident would not stop Indonesia and ASEAN from calling for the cessation of violence in Myanmar. 

"Stop using force. Stop violence! It is the people who will be the victims. No one will win in this situation. So let us sit together and create a room for dialogue to find a solution together," Jokowi said.

The humanitarian aid delivery is part of the five-point peace plan that ASEAN had agreed on at the bloc’s leaders’ meeting in Jakarta in April 2021. The AHA Centre is the coordinating body of ASEAN’s humanitarian assistance.

“Thank God. Indonesia's [ASEAN] chairmanship is able to facilitate the AHA Centre so the joint needs assessment can finally reach completion after access problems put it on a long pause," Jokowi told reporters.

Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters that Indonesia had made over 60 engagements with the stakeholders in Myanmar over the past four months of its ASEAN chairmanship. These stakeholders include the junta State Administration Council (SAC), Myanmar’s government-in-exile National Unity Government (NUG), as well as ethnic armed organizations (EAOs).  

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