VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The safety and welfare of the people of Myanmar have always become a concern of Indonesia, particularly amid a political crisis which has been running for almost a year. Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi at an Annual Press Statement of   Foreign Affairs Minister (PPTM) 2022 on Thursday (6/1) stated that since the beginning, Indonesia has been continuously committed to contributing.

She also explained that in this context, Indonesia has provided its humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar; one of them is by using airplanes that brought aid in September 2021 as part of ASEAN humanitarian assistance.

Minister Retno further stated that if the current political crisis situation continues, it will disturb the stability and security not only in Myanmar but also in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and in the region comprehensively.  As President Joko idodo suggested, Minister Retno explained that ASEAN leaders held a meeting in Jakarta in April 2021 and the meeting produced a Five-Point Consensus. She mentioned the Five-Point Consensus serves as a guide for ASEAN in resolving the political crisis in Myanmar.

However, Retno Marsudi noted that as long as there is no progress in implementing the Five-Point Consensus, it will be difficult for ASEAN to invite political level representatives from Myanmar to take part in the ASEAN meeting. She affirmed that ASEAN must uphold the joint commitments.

Moreover, Minister Retno Marsudi mentioned that Indonesia will continuously strive to strengthen the centrality and solidity of ASEAN by 2022. ASEAN must keep on functioning as an anchor for stability, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Besides, she also explained that ASEAN must remain relevant and be able to appropriately respond to new challenges in the region and the world and the people must feel the benefits of ASEAN.