Stick to Asean founding principles on Myanmar crisis: Cambodia official

There are no quick solutions, he says, urging long-term view and coherent action

- Tan Hui Yee

PHNOM PENH - Asean members should not deviate from the bloc's founding principles in their haste to find solutions to Myanmar's political crisis, said senior Cambodian foreign affairs official Kung Phoak.

"It is important we do not overstretch our interpretations of what we can do and what we cannot do with the Asean charter," he told The Straits Times in an exclusive interview ahead of the Asean Summit on Friday in Phnom Penh, where leaders will decide on what action to take on Myanmar.

Dr Kung Phoak, a Secretary of State in Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, also heads the office of Asean special envoy to Myanmar, Mr Prak Sokhonn.

The latter, who is also Cambodia's foreign minister, visited Myanmar twice in 2022 to try to persuade key parties in the political conflict to cease violence and pursue dialogue.

Limited progress has been made on Asean's "five-point consensus" to end the turmoil in Myanmar triggered by a February 2021 military coup. With political violence escalating and armed resistance to the junta growing, there is little appetite for dialogue. Some critics of the junta have even called for Myanmar to be suspended from the bloc.