Episode: KPN 03-08-2024

Hun Sen urges all stakeholders to work together to find a solution to the Myanmar conflict

During a courtesy call by Myanmar’s Union Minister for the Ministry of the State Administration Council Chairman’s Office U Ko Ko Hlaing, Senate President Hun Sen called on the Myanmar government to consider all military, political and diplomatic activities to seek peace without leaving out any party.

Mr Hun Sen posted in his Telegram channel yesterday that “Finding a solution to end the war requires the participation of all parties. Obviously, we cannot abandon any stakeholders, even if we do not want to negotiate with them”.

“We also called on the Myanmar side to carefully consider sending its non-political representatives to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings to avoid empty seats,” he said.

“Myanmar should maintain access to other forums of which it is a member, and is represented there, to protect its interests and should work closely with the countries with which it has relations,” he said.

Mr Hun Sen thanked Myanmar for its trust in Cambodia and emphasised that he had highlighted the Kingdom’s experience in helping and supporting Myanmar in finding a way to resolve the current political crisis.

Cambodia has not received any strategic, political, or economic benefits from its efforts to find a solution for Myanmar. Cambodia’s only intention is not to see the people of Myanmar suffer from a protracted war, which Cambodians had already gone through, he said.

Mr Hun Sen thanked Ko Ko Hlaing for briefing him on the current situation in Myanmar. He also shared Cambodia’s experience in resolving past political crises, ending wars and negotiations that have led to peace to this day.

He thanked Myanmar for its trust in Cambodia and stressed the importance of bilateral relations. He hoped that he would receive more information on the current situation in Myanmar.

Ko Ko Hliang told Mr Hun Sen that he thanks Cambodia for supporting Myanmar at ASEAN meetings. He noted that Cambodia and Myanmar have had friendly relations for decades.

He recalled Mr Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar in early 2022, during which he had also attended a meeting between the then Cambodian Prime Minister and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Chairman of the State Administration Council, the formal name of the military junta.

He said he considers Mr Hun Sen to be the most veteran politician with experience in foreign diplomacy in ASEAN.

Ko Ko Hlaing emphasised that Cambodia had made valuable contributions to Myanmar. He also recalled the important meeting between Mr Hun Sen and Sr General Aung Hlaing, via video, in May, 2022, in which the two leaders agreed to further strengthen bilateral ties.

He briefed Mr Hun Sen on the progress of Myanmar’s political situation currently, especially in respect to ASEAN and regional forums in which Myanmar has participated.

He highlighted that Myanmar has cooperated well with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and received assistance from Cambodia during the COVID-19 and the typhoon crisis.

He thanked the Cambodian government for its bilateral assistance and support to Myanmar in ASEAN forums, saying that without the support of the Cambodian side, ASEAN would not have reached the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) on the Myanmar issue at the 2021 meeting in Indonesia.

He said that Myanmar will hold free, fair and just elections in the future, to make the country a responsible democracy. He hopes that after the elections, the situation in Myanmar will improve and bilateral ties will be further strengthened.

ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, on July 27, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sok Chenda Sophea underscored the importance of creating a conducive environment for Myanmar’s concerned parties to engage in dialogue, advance ceasefire negotiations, and bring about long-lasting peace through a peaceful political process that is owned and led by that country.

He commended the ongoing efforts by the ASEAN Chair in advancing the implementation of the 5PC and enabling complementary efforts to assist Myanmar’s return to normalcy and reaffirmed the support for the works by the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar.

Maung Zarni, a human rights activist and well-known scholar in Rakhine State of Myanmar, said yesterday that despite being engulfed in multiple crises since its coup in February 2021, the coup junta has shown absolutely no indication of wanting or seeking a peaceful resolution to the raging civil war, nor any anti-coup resistance organisations.

All parties in Myanmar’s escalating civil war have convinced themselves they will prevail in due course. Meanwhile, the public at large are undergoing tremendous sufferings, death, destruction and mass displacement as the direct result of the war at home, he said.

Thong Mengdavid, Geopolitical Analyst and Lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy (IISPP) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), said yesterday that the balance of power is swinging toward the National Unity Government (NUG) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF) while the military junta is losing momentum.

Cambodia, along with other ASEAN Member States and external partners, have been supporting peace efforts and promoting negotiation among all conflicting parties, he said.

“The prolonged war in Myanmar has significantly reduced the junta’s powers and deteriorated the social and economic conditions while inducing humanitarian crisis,” he said.

“Moreover, Samdech Hun Sen had called and personally met with junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and provided solutions and means to ensure that compromises and confidence-building are in place and pave way for peace negotiations,” he said.

“In the worst case scenario, the victory of the NUG and PDF would deplete military power in Myanmar politics,” Mengdavid added.

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