The statement was issued following Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s meeting with his visiting Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, in Singapore on the same day.

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Soldiers guard at a checkpoint in Mandalay, Myanmar.

The MFA said the two ministers discussed possible next steps for ASEAN to address the situation in Myanmar, including how it could foster inclusive dialogue with all key stakeholders, including its external partners.

They also expressed strong support for a proposed Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Myanmar to be convened as soon as possible, to facilitate a constructive exchange of views and identify a possible way forward.

Retno arrived in Singapore on February 17 and left on the next day.

She also visited Brunei on February 17 and met with its Second Foreign Minister Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof, where discussions on the situation in Myanmar were held. Brunei is the current ASEAN Chair.

The military took power and declared the state of emergency in Myanmar after detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) on February 1.

Previously, the military had demanded the postponement of the new parliament sessions, citing massive voting fraud in the November 2020 elections, which saw the NLD win a majority of seats in both houses of parliament. The country’s Union Election Commission had dismissed the allegation.

Source: VNA