US and Asean will keep up pressure on Myanmar, Blinken says in Malaysia

Malaysia has been calling for Asean to take a harder stance on junta chief Min Aung Hlaing to ensure he complies with a ‘five-point consensus’ peace plan

The top US diplomat, who cut short his Southeast Asia trip due to a virus case among his entourage, said nothing was off the table, including sanctions on oil and gas revenues

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a press conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on December 15, 2021. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP

Published: 3:42pm, 15 Dec 2021Updated: 12:52pm, 16 Dec 2021

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Washington would look for new ways to step up pressure on Myanmar amid persistent post-coup violence and as the country’s neighbours consider whether to continue isolating the junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, speaking alongside Blinken in a press conference, said there was an urgent need for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to find a permanent solution to the situation in Myanmar.

Saifuddin, alongside counterparts from Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, has been at the forefront of calling for Asean to take a harder stance on Min Aung Hlaing so that he will comply with the “five-point consensus” peace plan he had agreed to in April.

Myanmar’s junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. File photo: AFP

Blinken, asked about the possibility of further punitive measures including sanctions on oil and gas revenues, indicated nothing was off the table. The US last week announced a raft of fresh sanctions on Myanmar but left out fossil fuel revenues.

“I think it’s going to be very important in the weeks and months ahead to look at what additional steps and measures we can take individually and collectively to pressure the regime to put the country back on a democratic trajectory,” Blinken said.

He added that the US remained committed to supporting Asean’s five-point consensus plan, which among other things requires the junta to allow for a regional envoy to hold talks with all sides, including the currently detained ruling party chief Aung San Suu Kyi.

The top US diplomat, who cancelled his trip to Thailand due to a Covid-19 case among his entourage after stops in Indonesia and Malaysia, did not offer a clear answer on whether Min Aung Hlaing would be invited to a planned summit of Asean leaders and President Joe Biden in the US next year.