ASEAN “strongly condemns” recent airstrikes in Myanmar in which dozens of people were reported killed, ASEAN chair Indonesia said in a statement yesterday.
“All forms of violence must end immediately, particularly the use of force against civilians,” it said.
A statement issued by the ASEAN chair does not necessarily indicate the agreement of all member states.
Photo: AFP
The official death toll from Tuesday morning’s strike on the remote Kanbalu Township in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region remains unclear, but at least 100 fatalities have been reported by the BBC, The Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia.
Myanmar’s junta on Wednesday confirmed it had launched limited airstrikes after receiving a tip-off from residents about an event marking the opening of a local defense force office connected to the military government’s opponents.
The attack drew swift condemnation from the UN and Western powers.
Indonesia — Southeast Asia’s biggest economy — is serving as this year’s chair of ASEAN and is to host the 10-member bloc’s annual leaders’ meetings next month and in September.
Jakarta is working to implement the “five-point consensus” agreed with the Myanmar junta in April 2021, which calls for an end to violence and dialogue between the military and rebels, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said last week.
However, the plan has been largely ignored by the junta, and mediation attempts by ASEAN countries to solve the crisis have failed, she said.
Jakarta chairing of the bloc had raised hopes that ASEAN could push for a peaceful solution in Myanmar, using Indonesia’s weight as a regional economic power and its diplomatic experience. Indonesia earlier this year announced plans to set up a special envoy’s office in its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish low-level dialogue with the junta, but little information has emerged about the status of any talks.
The junta remains an ASEAN member, but has been barred from top-level summits over its failure to implement the peace plan.
Following the coup that toppled former Burmese state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in 2021, a military crackdown on dissent and armed groups opposed to their rule has left more than 3,200 people dead, a Burmese monitoring group said.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS