Latest news with #58thAseanForeignMinisters'Meeting
The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Singapore envoy lauds Malaysia's decisive Asean leadership
KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore commends Malaysia's leadership as Asean Chair in 2025 and credits Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his team for their swift and decisive actions during the recent armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. Malaysia's mediation effort resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two neighbours. Singapore High Commissioner to Malaysia, Vanu Gopala Menon ( pic ), said the episode demonstrated that while Asean's consensus-based approach is important, a major crisis requires one to act without delay and with conviction. "Sometimes you need to act fast. Malaysia showed leadership by making the phone calls, bringing the two leaders to Kuala Lumpur and hosting them for talks that led to a ceasefire. "This is what we want to see, every government prepared to step in and tackle challenges head-on," he said on Bernama TV's The Nation, Diplomatic Dispatch programme titled "Malaysia And Singapore: A Bond Beyond Borders." Menon highlighted Malaysia's role in securing an agreement to admit Timor-Leste as Asean's newest member. He described the ability to bring parties with differing views on board as "a good sign of leadership." He said Asean continues to serve as a neutral and comfortable platform for major powers to meet, noting that the recent 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting brought together the foreign ministers of Russia, China, and the United States in various formats. On regional economic matters, Menon pointed to the planned signing of the upgraded Asean Trade in Goods Agreement in Kuala Lumpur this October as a positive step, along with efforts such as the Asean Power Grid to ensure the seamless flow of energy across borders. Turning to bilateral ties, Menon described Malaysia-Singapore relations as being in an excellent state, supported by strong political leadership on both sides. He noted that the Johor-Singapore Economic Zone (GSEZ), which was agreed to earlier this year, is already attracting interest from businesses exploring opportunities in both Johor and Singapore. "Singapore has its own strengths, Johor has its own strengths. Companies can decide where to locate their operations based on their needs. "Even before the incentives were announced, businesses were already scouting locations," he said. Menon added that people-to-people connections remain a vital part of the relationship. He cited the Volunteer Teachers Programme initiative, which has enabled young Singaporeans to teach English in Malaysian schools, including in rural areas. "This year marks the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Over the years, the relationship has grown from strength to strength, expanding into new areas such as the digital and green economies," he added. – Bernama
New Straits Times
08-08-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Tok Mat, Asean foreign ministers to visit Myanmar Sept 19
CYBERJAYA: Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan will travel to Myanmar on Sept 19 with his counterparts from Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia to gain a clearer picture of the country's situation. Mohamad said the visit was to demonstrate Asean unity, especially since the Philippines would be chairing the bloc in 2026. "We want continuity so that the next chair knows what needs to be done, what actions to take. So it's not disjointed. We will continue and build on what we have done," he said. He said the visit would also allow him to observe the country's new administration. "They have now formed what is called the State Security and Peace Council, a committee on national peace and security. However, the highest authority remains the National Defence and Security Council. So that's what I want to observe," he said. Myanmar's junta leader has been excluded from Asean summits since the military coup in 2021, due to the regime's failure to implement the bloc's peace roadmap. Since then, Asean has been pushing for a diplomatic resolution to Myanmar's civil conflict. Mohamad said he wanted to get a clear picture of the country's situation ahead of the 47th Asean Summit in October. He added that Myanmar must deliver on its promise of an "extended and expanded ceasefire." "They have clearly stated that Myanmar will be holding elections. That is why they have ended or chosen not to extend their state of emergency. This is in accordance with their constitution," he said. "So, I want to discuss with them what kind of election will be held, will it be a comprehensive election? Because there are still 63 cities or areas currently still under a state of emergency." Mohamad first said he would visit Myanmar before the 47th Asean Summit in October to meet its leaders on July 11, following the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
New Straits Times
08-08-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Asean foreign ministers to visit Myanmar for peace talks
CYBERJAYA: Asean foreign ministers will be visiting Myanmar to urge the country to stay on course with the Five-Point Consensus, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. During the 58th Asean Day celebration, Anwar said the bloc would do whatever is necessary to facilitate the peace process. "Our next challenge is Myanmar, where we have made some progress, at least in terms of securing a somewhat ceasefire. "The foreign minister, along with his counterparts from Thailand and Indonesia, will be visiting Myanmar soon to press on them to stay on course, starting with an end to violence and cessation of hostilities, and then pursue dialogue with the stakeholders and players within Myanmar. "We in Asean will do whatever is necessary to support that process," he said in his speech. On July 11, following the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said he would visit Naypyidaw, Myanmar, before the 47th Asean Summit in October to meet its leaders. He said Malaysia was concerned that the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on the ground was still lacking.
The Star
02-08-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Asean's parallel diplomacy on Myanmar: Creativity sans coordination
AT the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting on July 9, the regional bloc reiterated its commitment to the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) as the central political reference for addressing the deepening crisis in Myanmar, which was also stated in the 2025 Asean Leaders' Statement on a Ceasefire in Myanmar Extended and Expanded. Yet more than four years since the military coup, with escalating violence, deepening displacement and widespread human rights violations, one must ask: How effective has this approach truly been? What has become increasingly clear is the growing disconnect between Asean's rhetoric and its actions. Far from being a roadmap to peace, the 5PC has become a diplomatic placeholder, invoked ritually in communiqués yet divorced from realities on the ground. What has emerged in its place is a fragmented and contradictory set of responses has emerged, exposing Asean to what is described as the trap of "parallel diplomacy". This trap reveals both institutional stagnation and growing division among Asean member states. Rather than forging a cohesive and principled regional strategy, Asean has allowed individual member states to pursue uncoordinated and improvised national initiatives. These fragmented actions, often detached from Asean's formal mechanisms, have bred confusion, diluted collective pressure on the junta and eroded public confidence in the bloc's credibility. Parallel diplomacy, by nature, is not inherently flawed. Informal channels, Track 1.5 dialogues and backchannel negotiations can play crucial roles in complex conflict contexts. However, when these efforts unfold without coordination or a shared strategic vision, they risk undermining peace building efforts. Fragmented diplomacy, in such a case, becomes a symptom of disunity, not a strategy for flexibility. Thailand's approach to the Myanmar crisis exemplifies the consequences of this incoherence. Often operating outside Asean frameworks, Thailand has spearheaded what has come to be known as the 'Bangkok Process', a series of direct engagements with Myanmar's military regime. This began with then-foreign minister Don Pramudwinai's visit to Naypyidaw in 2021 and continued with the appointment of a Thai special envoy to Myanmar. Several informal consultations followed, including meetings involving the junta and its closest allies. In December 2022, Thailand hosted a closed-door meeting that included junta representatives and the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore boycotted the meeting, citing their commitment to the 5PC and objected to the junta's inclusion. Similar meetings followed in June 2023 and December 2024, often framed around humanitarian engagement. The latter was attended by ministers from Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, with the rest sending lower-level delegates. These moves signalled improvisation over unity, diplomacy over strategy. Indonesia as Asean chair in 2023, meanwhile, held consultations with over 145 stakeholders, including resistance groups, by September that year. These engagements evolved into an informal Joint Coordination Body known as the "Jakarta Club", which remains active today. The January 2025 Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat further highlighted the region's growing fragmentation over Myanmar. The Philippines proposed a new political framework, while Vietnam called for the inclusion of ethnic armed organisations in future dialogue. These diverging positions do not signal healthy pluralism, they reflect deepening strategic incoherence within Asean. In April, Malaysia initiated direct engagement with the National Unity Government Myanmar's civilian-led opposition. However, diplomatic courtesies and technical cooperation with the junta continue in parallel, lending de facto legitimacy to the military regime while reducing pro-democracy actors to symbolic participants. The emergence of multiple informal mechanisms, such as Indonesia's Jakarta Club, Thailand's Bangkok Process and Malaysia's dual-track diplomacy, reflects both innovation and disarray in Asean's approach. These ad-hoc efforts, in the absence of a unified strategy, illustrate Asean's drift: engaging both the junta and the opposition without a coherent political roadmap risks perpetuating stalemate rather than resolving the crisis. Part of this incoherence stems from Asean's institutional structure. The rotating nature of the Special Envoy, changing with each Asean Chair, undermines continuity and long-term strategy. Compounding this, minister-level envoy is no longer on the table. While some of these adjustments are framed as strategic, they also reflect the bloc's limited political will and uneven commitment to addressing the crisis. Another structural flaw lies in Asean's lack of a clear, enforceable mechanism to address unconstitutional changes of government. This institutional gap not only enables impunity but makes the bloc complicit in democratic backsliding. Without the courage to confront member states that violate core democratic norms, the bloc merely adds strain to its already fragile regionalism project. Another disunity has been revealed in member states' responses to Myanmar's planned 2025 elections, to be held later this year. Malaysia and Singapore have rightly questioned the vote's legitimacy, while Thailand remains neutral and Cambodia has even offered to send observers. These divergent positions highlight Asean's chronic inability to speak with one voice on fundamental democratic principles, undermining its credibility and emboldening authoritarian actors within and beyond Myanmar. Asean stands at a critical juncture shaped by crisis, centrality and conscience. This photo taken on December 10, 2023 shows members of the Mandalay People's Defense Forces (MDY-PDF) heading to the frontline amid clashes with the Myanmar military in northern Shan State. Myanmar's junta ended the country's state of emergency on July 31, 2025, ramping up preparations for a December election being boycotted by opposition groups and criticised by international monitors. — AFP The humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar, marked by mass killings, displacement and aid blockades, has spilled across borders, fuelling instability and transnational crime. Some advocate for using all diplomatic tools, including parallel tracks, but innovation without principled leadership and a unified strategy risks becoming a smokescreen for inaction rather than a path to peace. The true test of Asean's centrality is no longer its ability to speak in uniformity, but to harmonise many voices without losing the plot. Centrality must mean more than procedural prominence, it must signal strategic coherence and moral leadership. The Myanmar crisis has revealed troubling signs of institutional drift, and unless corrected, Asean's foundational claims to unity and purpose will ring increasingly empty. Above all, Asean must summon moral clarity. Leading with conscience means naming the perpetrators, supporting the victims and rejecting impunity masquerading as diplomacy. — The Jakarta Post/ANN Yuyun Wahyuningrum is executive director of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
The Star
27-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
New Malaysian ambassador reaffirms ties with US
Warm welcome: Muhammad Shahrul Ikram presenting his letter of credence to Trump at the White House. — Pic from Embassy of Malaysia, Washington D.C. Facebook page KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's new Ambassador to the United States, Tan Sri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob, has reaffirmed his commitment to further strengthening Malaysia-US bilateral relations during a credentials ceremony with President Donald Trump at the White House. The Embassy of Malaysia in Washington, D.C., said Muhammad Shahrul Ikram presented his letter of credence to Trump during the presentation of credentials ceremony at the White House on July 24. The ceremony officially marked him as the 18th Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Malaysia to the United States. During the ceremony, Muhammad Shahrul Ikram briefly exchanged warm pleasantries with Trump, expressing his commitment to further enhancing bilateral ties, Bernama reported. He also thanked the President for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's participation in the recent 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings, held in Kuala Lumpur from July 8 to 11, which reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the region and the strengthening of the Malaysia-US Comprehensive Partnership, the embassy said. Over the past six decades since 1957, Malaysia-US relations have grown into a multifaceted partnership encompassing political, economic, defence and security, educational, and people-to-people cooperation. Muhammad Shahrul Ikram is a former secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry and a veteran diplomat with over 35 years of service. Born in Pahang, he holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Ecology from Universiti Malaya and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in 2009. Muhammad Shahrul Ikram began his career at the Foreign Ministry in 1988 as an administrative and diplomatic officer. Throughout his career in public service, Muhammad Shahrul Ikram has served as Malaysia's ambassador to Qatar and Austria, as well as a permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. His previous diplomatic postings included assignments at Malaysia's missions in Vienna, Washington, D.C., and Beijing.
