China hopes Asean summit can lead to ‘soft landing’ for Myanmar crisis

Name: SCMP Explains: How did Myanmar’s military become so powerful?
Uploaded: 2021-04-23T11:00:19.000Z
Duration: 5 min 18 s
Description: SCMP Explains: How did Myanmar’s military become so powerful?

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls on leaders to encourage all parties to exercise restraint and meet each other halfway

Wang also reminds member states to be alert against external forces interfering in the country as they prepare for special meeting

2-MIN READ2-MIN

An armed rebel provides security during a demonstration against the military coup in Myanmar. Photo: AFP

Rachel Zhang

Published: 7:00pm, 23 Apr 2021Updated: 7:00pm, 23 Apr 2021

China expects the Asean leaders’ summit over the weekend to pave the way for “a soft landing” for the crisis in Myanmar, according to Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Speaking by phone on Thursday, Wang exchanged views on Myanmar with his counterparts from Thailand and Brunei, which holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ahead of the long-awaited special meeting on the issue to be held in Jakarta on Saturday.

05:18

SCMP Explains: How did Myanmar’s military become so powerful?

Myanmar’s seat at the table will be filled by the leader of the country’s new military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. There has been no official invitation to the meeting for members of the junta’s opponents, the pro-democracy alliance National Unity Government.

China is not part of Asean but, along with South Korea and Japan, is a member of Asean Plus Three, which coordinates cooperation between them and the Asean states.

“China expects the meeting to lead to a good start to realise ‘a soft landing’ for the Myanmar situation,” Wang said, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry. He added that China hoped the summit could be conducive to political reconciliation in Myanmar.

“The way out [of the crisis] is for all parties of Myanmar to seek new understanding through political dialogue within the constitutional and legal framework and continue pushing forward the hard-won democratic transition.”