Why is China’s Wang Yi hosting four Asean ministers in Fujian but meeting them individually?

Myanmar is expected to be on the agenda but all parties are careful not to give the impression it is a ‘minilateral’ meeting

Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have been most vocal about Myanmar’s worsening crisis

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On 31 March, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore in Fujian.

Published: 9:05pm, 31 Mar 2021Updated: 10:06am, 1 Apr 2021

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is holding one-on-one talks this weeks with his counterparts from four Southeast Asian nations that have been most vocal about Myanmar’s political crisis, suggesting that the worsening post-coup upheaval will feature among other bilateral issues.

Song Qingrun, an associate professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told CGTN, the international arm of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that China plans to work with Asean to maintain stability in the South China Sea and resolve Myanmar’s “internal political crisis”.

Protesters shout slogans near a burning makeshift barricade along a road during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon on March 30, 2021. Photo: STR/AFP

Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, on his first trip to China since 2019, was first to meet Wang in Fujian province on Wednesday, to be followed by Malaysia’s Hishammuddin Hussein on Thursday, Indonesia’s Retno Marsudi on Friday morning and Teddy Locsin Jnr from the Philippines on Friday afternoon, according to sources.

Balakrishnan has in recent weeks held talks with Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, which is the current Asean chair, on the worsening military crackdown in Myanmar. None of the Southeast Asian countries publicised that Myanmar would be among the topics discussed with Wang, but international concern over the junta’s actions is growing.

Singapore’s foreign affairs ministry issued a statement early on Thursday saying that Balakrishnan and Wang discussed the “tragic situation” in Myanmar and expressed “alarm” over the continued use of lethal force by Myanmar’s military.

“The ministers called for a de-escalation of the situation, a cessation of violence and the commencement of constructive dialogue among all sides,” the statement said, adding that the two foreign ministers also discussed bilateral issues, including China’s proposal on the mutual recognition of health certificates for cross-border travel.

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