Jakarta (ANTARA) - ASEAN has been consistently prioritizing persuasive methods to resolve the Myanmar issue, rather than imposing sanctions on the country, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
"Sanctions are not in the DNA of ASEAN countries. Moreover, ASEAN itself does not recognize the mechanism of sanctions against its member countries," the ministry's spokesperson, Rolliansyah Soemirat, nicknamed Roy, said here on Monday.
He affirmed that ASEAN will continue to encourage all stakeholders involved in the Myanmar issue to sit together and hold a dialogue to end the conflict as well as implement the Five-Point Consensus (5PC).
Sanctions can only be applied as a last resort if other persuasive methods, such as dialogue and mediation, can no longer be applied, he said. However, to protect innocent people from harm, sanctions should not be imposed blindly.
"In any case, for Indonesia, Myanmar is part of ASEAN and will always be a part of ASEAN, becoming a member of ASEAN that we must help," he added.
Indonesia is of the view that the only sanctions that should be recognized and implemented against a country are those imposed by the UN Security Council as a multilateral entity that has the right to do so, he informed.
Soemirat further said that ASEAN's decision to not involve Myanmar in organizational activities so far is not a sanction, but an effort to provide space for the country to resolve its internal conflict.
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In addition to only allowing non-political representatives to participate in its meetings, ASEAN also decided to suspend Myanmar from the rotating ASEAN chairmanship for 2026, replacing it with the Philippines.
"This shows that they still have homework to do to resolve the conflict and determine who is actually worthy of sitting in the chair (to represent Myanmar at ASEAN meetings)," he said.
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He assured that Indonesia will participate in the Troika meeting in Thailand on December 20, 2024, to discuss the Myanmar issue. He explained that the meeting will begin with a series of informal consultations between members of the ASEAN Troika.
The meeting will be continued with further informal consultations that will provide space for participation for ASEAN countries outside the Troika.