Asean envoy to Myanmar needs permanent office, says expert

Free Malaysia Today

4 days ago

Myanmar's military junta has been engaged in violent conflicts with various ethnic groups, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis after an earthquake in March led to 3 million people being displaced. (EPA Images pic)
PETALING JAYA : Asean should set up a permanent office to support the appointment of an Asean special envoy to Myanmar, according to an international affairs expert.
Johan Saravanamuttu of Universiti Malaya's Asia-Europe Institute said the office of the permanent envoy could be housed within the Asean Secretariat, where the envoy would have access to dedicated resources and support staff.
Asean leaders are reported to have agreed last week to appoint a full-time permanent special envoy to focus exclusively on Myanmar's ongoing crisis.
Johan said the current system of rotating special envoys forces unnecessary handovers as the role passes from one country to another.
Johan Saravanamuthu.
He said Malaysia, as the Asean chair for 2025, has to provide all the services to its special envoy, Othman Hashim, who was appointed in January.
The next special envoy for Myanmar will be from the Philippines, which takes over as the next Asean chair. 'So the Malaysian-appointed envoy will then have to report to the Philippines-appointed envoy and tell them this is what we have done, and so on,' he added.
He said Indonesia, as Asean chair in 2023, had held over 250 meetings with various parties about Myanmar.
'All records should be transferred to the permanent office to maintain institutional memory,' said Johan.
Johan said the principle of quiet diplomacy, as espoused by prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, will remain despite the appointment of a permanent envoy, who will continue facilitating discreet negotiations with Myanmar's conflicting parties without premature public announcements.
'As of now, there is no appetite to have any kind of dialogue between the State Administrative Council (SAC), the military leaders and the resistance groups,' he said.
'So we hope that, at some point, the special envoy will be able to bring some level of dialogue between the different groups, in a sense, and also to have some kind of dialogue with the junta as to how we could progress towards a peaceful resolution of conflicts.'
Asean's approach to Myanmar since the 2021 military coup has faced criticism for being slow and ineffective.
The bloc's Five-Point Consensus, which includes appointing a special envoy to engage with all stakeholders, remains the cornerstone of its peace efforts.
Yazid Zul Kepli.
Regional security analyst Yazid Zul Kepli recommended complementing quiet diplomacy with shuttle diplomacy and humanitarian coordination through Track 1.5 or Track 2 dialogues, which involve officials, academics, NGOs, and civil society actors.
'These formats allow for informal exchanges to build trust and explore solutions without the pressure of official negotiations,' he said.
For success, Yazid stressed the envoy must have a strong regional mandate, be neutral, and be experienced in diplomacy.
'The envoy could also help manage Myanmar's spillover effects across the region, including transnational crime, job scam-related money laundering, and refugee displacement, by coordinating responses and engaging with law enforcement and humanitarian agencies,' he said.