Creating space: Cambodia advocates conducive environment for Myanmar rivals to hold talks

A Ministry statement released yesterday said that “Chenda Sophea emphasised the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF)’s significant role in the current geopolitical, geo-economic, and geostrategic context in which constructive dialogue and practical cooperation are crucial for building mutual trust and confidence among the ARF participating countries in maintaining peace and stability in the region and beyond”.

“Moreover, he commended the ongoing efforts by the ASEAN Chair in advancing the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) and enabling complementary efforts to assist Myanmar’s return to normalcy and reaffirmed the support for the works by the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar,” it said.

The remarks were made when Chenda Sophea attended the 25th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the 14th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting, the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) 10+1 Sessions with the United States (US) and the 31st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), in Vientiane, Laos, on Saturday.

The APT meeting reaffirmed its important role in contributing to the realisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and appreciated the notable progress of the implementation of the APT Cooperation Work Plan 2023-2027.

Moreover, the meeting encouraged the APT participating countries to further strengthen economic ties by fully and effectively utilising the respective Free Trade Agreements and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and tapping into the great potential of emerging industries such as digital economy, green transition, connectivity, resilient supply chains, smart agriculture and sustainable tourism.

During the meeting, Chenda Sophea highlighted some key priorities that the APT should focus on including: enhancing regional economic and financial stability through the establishment of the Rapid Financing Facility as a new facility under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation, the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, Asian Bond Markets Initiative, Disaster Risk Financing and the ASEAN+3 Future Initiatives; promoting the utilisation of renewable, green, and low-carbon energies and the development of an effective, resilient, and smart ASEAN Power Grid; and enhancing food security through the implementation of ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) by adding more food items to the APTERR and improving its information system.

The ASEAN Regional Forum meeting adopted the ARF Statement on Enhancing Regional Cooperation on Ferry Safety, which aims to strengthen regulatory frameworks and public awareness of ferry safety in the region through the exchange of experiences and best practices among ARF participating countries.

They looked forward to the annual publication of the 2024 ARF Annual Security Outlook (ASO) in which participating countries share their views on various issues on peace and security to promote transparency and confidence among themselves.

The Forum also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest and concern, encompassing both traditional and non-traditional security issues.

During the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) 10+1 Sessions, Chenda Sophea said that ASEAN countries needs to build an ecosystem to help realise the aim of investing in human capital development in order to ensure that their peoples are equipped with the 21st century skills that allow them to thrive in the future, making their Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises competitive, productive and resilient, and facilitating the adoption of technology and digital tools.

He thanked dialogue partners for their continued support for the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan IV (2021-2025), which contributes to their efforts to narrow the development gap in the region.

Chenda Sophea urged ASEAN and Dialogue Partners to tap into the great potentials of emerging industries such as digital economy, green transition, resilient supply chains, and sustainable tourism.

Among some of the most important priorities across the three community pillars, he placed a heavy emphasis on the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, the first region-wide digital economy agreement in the world, which is expected to be adopted next year, the development of a resilient, sustainable and smart ASEAN Power Grid, and better utilisation of renewable, green and low-carbon energy, he said.

He expressed appreciation to Dialogue Partners for their support for ASEAN Centrality, and the ASEAN Outlook on Indo Pacific (AOIP), which serves as a guiding document in the engagement with partners in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean regions.

Moreover, he encouraged Dialogue Partners to contribute to the AOIP through tangible and concrete projects in the four priority areas identified in the AOIP through ASEAN-led mechanisms for mutual benefit.

Yang Peou, Secretary-General of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC), said yesterday that the political situation in Myanmar cannot be resolved through ASEAN calls, as some ASEAN members are unwilling to address and continue to discriminate against Myanmar.

During its chairmanship of ASEAN, Cambodia also tried to resolve and push for dialogue from all opposition parties in Myanmar, but some ASEAN members seemed dissatisfied and did not support the initiative, he said.

“International and ASEAN political pressure cannot resolve domestic political disputes in Myanmar. Myanmar itself must show a willingness to resolve and unite its nation so that the people can stop discriminating against the military regime,” he said.

An ASEAN joint statement said on Saturday that they welcomed the ongoing progress of the Implementation of the Framework on Circular Economy for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Strategic Plan and its corresponding work programme, as well as the work of the ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholders Platform, which will complement the ASEAN Member States’ climate action and low carbon economy efforts.

They also welcomed the adoption of the ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality by the AEC Council in September 2023, to complement national initiatives by ASEAN Member States in fulfilling their respective Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.

They noted the progress in implementing the ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality including the early establishment of a dedicated governance body to ensure streamlined coordination and as well as the early and effective implementation of the Strategy.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers also discussed the developments in Myanmar and expressed their deep concern over the escalation of conflicts and humanitarian situation.

“We reaffirmed our united position that the ASEAN Leaders’ Five-Point Consensus (5PC) remains our main reference to address the political crisis in Myanmar. We also reaffirmed the relevant Leaders’ decisions,” it said.

“We strongly condemned the continued acts of violence against civilians and public facilities and called for immediate cessation, and urged all parties involved to take concrete action to immediately halt indiscriminate violence, denounce any escalation, exercise utmost restraint, ensure the protection and safety of all civilians and create a conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue,” the joint statement said.