"From within ASEAN itself, the challenge is the Myanmar conflict, which is often in the spotlight," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Monday.
She made the statement at a public lecture entitled "The Role of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the Implementation of Indonesia's Soft Power Diplomacy" in Padang, West Sumatra, which she joined via video recording.
As the chair of ASEAN in 2023, Indonesia will make every effort to find the best solution for peace, such as inclusive dialogue carried out by stakeholders in Myanmar.
Marsudi, who served as the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands from 2011 to 2015, said that the peace mission would depend heavily on the attitude of stakeholders in Myanmar, especially the military junta.
"This really depends on stakeholders, especially the military junta, to find a sustainable peaceful solution," she stated.
She also emphasized that ASEAN countries have consistently pushed for the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, including ensuring that Myanmar respects the ASEAN Charter as a whole.
According to Director General of Information and Diplomacy at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Teuku Faizasyah, the Indonesian Government has continued to build and establish communication between the warring parties in Myanmar.
"Later on, when they feel more comfortable talking about the peace issue, then there will already be a foundation that we built beforehand," he said.
Discussing the foundation for peace in a conflict-ridden country, it requires a long time and, contrary to expectations, it cannot be accomplished instantly, he added.
The roots of the current conflict in Myanmar — which is directly bordered by India and Bangladesh in the west, Thailand and Laos in the east, and China in the north and northeast — have existed since the time of the nation's independence.
The problems it is facing are also quite classic, such as minority groups and disintegration, among others, which have eventually triggered the conflict. To resolve the Myanmar conflict, all issues that arise will need to be discussed.
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Translator: Muhammad Zulfikar, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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