ASEAN Myanmar

Powerful actors like China, Russia, ASEAN, and many other nations have refused to act in the Rohingya crisis – usually citing Myanmar’s sovereignty and the principle of non-interference.

The grouping faces rising pressure to tackle a new phase of an issue that has consumed it for decades.

The bloc’s response to the bombing in Kanbalu has laid bare its impotence and poor understanding of the country’s conflict.

The call came as the death toll from last week's airstrike on Kanbalu township rose to 168.

It remains to be seen whether Indonesia, the bloc's current chair, can lead a tougher and more effective regional response to the country's conflict.

"We believe in ASEAN centrality when it comes to addressing the crisis in Myanmar, which is the most acute security crisis that Southeast Asia is facing right now."

Having failed to push forward a resolution to Myanmar's conflict, the Southeast Asian bloc needs a face-saving way of admitting defeat.

Indonesia is setting up an office of an ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar in Jakarta to spearhead how the bloc deals with the crisis.

In an interview this week, President Joko Widodo suggested that the unnamed general would highlight his own country's democratic transition since 1998.

A resolution to the conflict is unlikely in 2023. Jakarta should therefore take a realistic and flexible approach.

Despite its claims to the contrary, the Southeast Asian bloc is intervening in Myanmar's crisis – just not effectively.