Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Hougang): Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State: with the change in ASEAN Chair this year to Laos, does Singapore expect any change in the momentum of ASEAN’s engagement with Myanmar and how does Singapore continue to expect itself to support the new ASEAN Chair in ASEAN’s engagement with Myanmar regarding the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus?
Mr Speaker: Minister Balakrishnan.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me address that supplementary question because I have just returned last week from the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
I would emphasise that the key word is “consistency” and ASEAN, under the Chairmanship of Laos, has expressed our clear intention to maintain that consistent position, and the paramount expression of that is the Five-Point Consensus. So, I would say that as far as ASEAN is concerned, there is no change.
The unfortunate change which is happening is on the ground in Myanmar. And if you check with your contacts there, the security situation remains dire. It is almost tantamount to a civil war. And whilst the military has no intention of ceding power, their ability to maintain authority on the ground is being severely challenged by a variety of groups, both the ethnic armed organisations as well as the resistance from the Burmese majority within Myanmar itself.
So, the other point which we have all emphasised is that there is a need to continue humanitarian support and ASEAN is engaged on this and we are also expecting that Thailand will do a bit more to enable or facilitate the cross-border delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Our priority remains the welfare of the people of Myanmar, and we should be under no illusions that ASEAN can magically resolve the problems. Ultimately, this is a political problem, a problem of leadership, and the political leaders across the spectrum in Myanmar need to get together, reconcile their diverse positions and we still believe there needs to be direct face-to-face negotiations conducted in good faith amongst all the political leaders there.
So, it is a complex situation, but we will continue to maintain our consistent position.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
7 February 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=oral-answer-3435
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 