Those efforts have been fruitless, as the junta ignores international criticism and refuses to engage with its opponents, which include ousted lawmakers, anti-coup “People’s Defence Forces” and armed ethnic minority groups.

An air strike on a village in a rebel stronghold last month that reportedly killed about 170 people sparked global condemnation and worsened the junta’s isolation.

It also fuelled calls for Asean to take tougher action to end the violence or risk being sidelined.

“Asean is at a crossroad,” said Mahfud MD, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for politics, legal and security, speaking on Tuesday, the first day of the summit.

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Final footage shot by Japanese journalist killed in Myanmar unveiled 15 years later

Final footage shot by Japanese journalist killed in Myanmar unveiled 15 years later

“Crisis after crisis is testing our strength as a community. And failure to address them would risk jeopardising our relevance,” he said, according to a copy of his remarks, listing Myanmar among the emergencies facing the bloc.

Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that last month’s air strike in the central Sagaing region was a “likely war crime”, and urged Asean to “signal its support for stronger measures to cut off the military’s cash flow and press the junta for reform”.

Pressure on the regional bloc increased on Sunday after a convoy of vehicles carrying diplomats and officials coordinating Asean humanitarian relief in Myanmar came under fire.

Few details have been released about the shooting in eastern Myanmar’s Shan State, but Indonesia and Singapore both confirmed that members of their embassies in Yangon were in the group.

Singapore said its two staff members were unharmed. It condemned the attack in a statement late on Monday.

Indonesia, the Asean chair this year, said two of its diplomats were in the vehicles and were “in good condition”.

The shooting happened days before the May 9-11 Asean summit on the Indonesian island of Flores, where foreign ministers and national leaders will continue efforts to kick-start a five-point plan agreed with Myanmar two years ago after mediation attempts to end the violence failed.

The foreign ministers held talks on Tuesday while their countries’ leaders were expected to meet Wednesday and Thursday.

Ahead of the arrival of officials in Labuan Bajo, the army deployed more than 9,000 personnel and warships to the small fishing town that serves as the entrance to Komodo National Park, where tourists can see the world’s largest lizards.

In her opening remarks on Tuesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the ministers had already discussed “the implementation” of the peace plan, but she did not elaborate.

A Southeast Asian diplomat told Agence France-Presse that Sunday’s shooting “raises the urgency of Myanmar as a key discussion point at this summit”.

The US State Department said it was “deeply concerned” about the shooting and urged the junta to “meaningfully implement the Five-Point Consensus”.

Myanmar remains an Asean member but has been barred from top-level summits due to the junta’s failure to implement the peace plan.

There was a vacant chair for Myanmar at the foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday.

Marsudi said on Friday that her country was using “quiet diplomacy” to speak with all sides of the Myanmar conflict and spur renewed peace efforts.

Asean has long been criticised for its inaction, but its initiatives are limited by its charter principles of consensus and non-interference.

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Other nations, such as China and individual member countries of Asean, have taken the lead in trying to resolve the Myanmar crisis.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on Tuesday welcomed international support for the bloc’s efforts on Myanmar, but said the resolution should “remain Asean-led”.

US-based analyst Zachary Abuza said the group was unlikely to offer more than another statement of condemnation despite Sunday’s attack.

“Had a diplomat been killed, there would have been more pressure on the organisation to do something, but frankly they’ve been so feckless in the past two years that it’s hard to see them actually acting in a meaningful way,” Abuza told Agence France-Presse.