China hopes ASEAN will promote Myanmar peace

Beijing has voiced hopes that the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will promote reconciliation amid Myanmar's lingering political crisis at an upcoming special ASEAN summit on the matter.

ASEAN is also expected to play "a constructive role" and "prevent improper engagement by the region's outsiders", State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday during separate phone conversations with the foreign ministers of Thailand and Brunei.

Expectations for the Saturday ASEAN special summit were made clear at a time when international organizations and policy analysts are expressing growing concerns over the "triple impact" of preexisting poverty, COVID-19 and the current political crisis in Myanmar.

The United Nations' World Food Program estimated on Thursday that up to 3.4 million more people in the country will be hungry, particularly those in urban centers, "within the next six months".

In his phone talks, Wang said the upcoming ASEAN special summit is expected to be productive in easing tensions in Myanmar and providing conditions for the situation's "soft landing".

ASEAN knows Myanmar's specific national conditions better than any other regional organization, and it can speak with one voice, he added.

Similarly, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said on Thursday that "it is now up to ASEAN family members including Myanmar to safeguard ASEAN's unity and credibility", Reuters reported.

"A concerted response is required now to alleviate immediate suffering and to prevent an alarming deterioration in food security," a WFP release quoted its Myanmar Country Director Stephen Anderson as saying.

As a warning against pressure arbitrarily applied by external countries or regional groups, Wang said such pressure is not helpful in resolving internal issues of a country and may escalate or worsen the situation, thus impacting and sabotaging the region's stability.

At this moment, the world is expected to support ASEAN in easing tensions, not the opposite, he added.

Wang said whether Myanmar's issue can be properly resolved mainly depends on the country itself, and the way for all parties in the country is to seek new understanding through political dialogue within constitutional and legal frameworks and to continue pushing forward hard-won democratic transitions.