Asean mulls permanent envoy to Myanmar on 3-year term

 The proposal has received broad support, with discussions ongoing over the candidate.

Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan at the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur today. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 Asean foreign ministers are considering a proposal to appoint a permanent special envoy to handle the protracted Myanmar crisis, in a shift from the current practice of rotating the role annually among member states.

Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said they had agreed to begin internal consultations on the proposal, which received broad support at the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AFMM) here today.

“To us, every year we have to change the special envoy, then we have to start all over again and there’s no end to it.

“So, we have agreed that we want to explore (this proposal) … and nobody said otherwise.

“And it’s just a matter of who is going to be the permanent special envoy, well, maybe for a three-year term,” he told a press conference after chairing the meeting.

Under existing arrangements, the special envoy is appointed by the Asean chair on a yearly basis.

As chair for 2025, Malaysia has named Othman Hashim as the bloc’s fifth envoy since the February 2021 military coup that plunged Myanmar into political and humanitarian turmoil.

When asked about whether Asean’s non-interference policy limited its ability to handle the civil war in Myanmar, Mohamad reiterated that the “Asean way” does not seek to meddle in the internal affairs of its member states.

However, he said the Myanmar crisis has spilled over to neighbouring countries.

“We now have to deal with transnational crime, money laundering via job scams, millions of people being displaced and a growing refugee crisis.

“Malaysia itself is dealing with 200,000 Rohingya refugees.

“We are not trying to meddle in their affairs, but this has become an Asean issue,” he said. - FMT