SE Asian navy officers gather in Naypyitaw for ASEAN meeting

Myanmar’s junta welcomed senior officers of eight Southeast Asian navies to Naypyitaw this week for a regional gathering that coincided with this year’s annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Laos. The naval leaders—mostly deputy commanders from all but one of the regional grouping’s 10 member states—arrived in the regime’s capital for the 18th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting on Wednesday, according to junta-controlled state media reports. The one missing official was from Singapore, which has been relatively critical of the Myanmar regime since it seized power in a coup in February 2021. Indonesia and the Philippines, which have also been outspoken about the junta’s brutal suppression of its opponents, sent military attaches. ASEAN has attempted to spearhead international efforts to resolve the spiralling conflict in Myanmar through a five-point “consensus” reached in early 2021. However, it has made little progress in getting the regime to abide by promises to end its violence against civilians. On Friday, the grouping concluded its annual three-day summit, held this year in Vientiane, Laos, with a statement describing efforts to achieve peace in Myanmar as “substantially inadequate.” Meanwhile, the regime appears to be softening its stance on limitations placed on its participation in ASEAN gatherings, agreeing for the first time in three years to send a “non-political” representative—permanent foreign secretary Aung Kyaw Moe—to the summit instead of insisting on a more senior leader. However, observers have noted that a number of top regime officials, including its chair, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, have attended hundreds of ASEAN gatherings since their presence at high-level meetings was banned in October 2021. In Naypyitaw on Wednesday, the regime played up what it called “friendly relations” with ASEAN member states and other neighbouring countries. In an opening speech delivered on behalf of Min Aung Hlaing, chief of general staff General Maung Maung Aye called for greater collaboration to ensure “peace, stability, security and prosperity” in the region. He also “stressed the need to prioritise non-interference from external factors within ASEAN waters,” according to MITV, the regime’s state-owned English-language broadcaster.

SE Asian navy officers gather in Naypyitaw for ASEAN meeting

The gathering coincided with this year’s annual ASEAN Summit in Laos, attended by a “non-political” representative of the regime for the first time in three years

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