The rights group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) has criticized the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for allowing Myanmar’s military to attend its counterterrorism meeting.
Myanmar’s military was invited by Malaysia, the current ASEAN chair, to the defense ministers’ meeting, co-chaired by Malaysia and India, in March.
The two-day event in New Delhi was also attended by representatives from China, the US, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. India is one of the junta’s leading arms suppliers, said JFM.
A Wednesday statement from JFM accused ASEAN of deepening its complicity in war crimes and undermining its commitments.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim this month urged Myanmar’s regime leader Min Aung Hlaing to respect a post-earthquake ceasefire.
Anwar described their meeting in Bangkok as “very successful” but the regime continued to bomb civilian targets in resistance-held territory.
JFM said ASEAN’s cooperation with the junta made Malaysia’s calls for peace sound hollow.
“Enabling the junta as it bombs civilians is a moral outrage that should shame ASEAN to its core, especially as it claims to champion peace,” said Yadanar Maung of JFM.
She said ASEAN’s complicity in the junta’s crimes had gone on too long and was a dark stain on its credibility.
Planned ASEAN meetings on terrorism include a tabletop exercise in Malaysia in 2026 and a field training exercise in India in 2027.
The drills would provide technical and tactical support to the regime, which carries out war crimes under the guise of counterterrorism, JFM said.
The regime led an ASEAN counterterrorism working group with Russia from 2021-23. In 2023, the group held counterterrorism training in Russia, which included training for junta personnel.
The military’s ongoing attendance at ASEAN cyber-defense training, defense ministers’ retreats and regional defense institutions reflected a pattern of legitimization and support, despite calls to end engagement with the junta, the rights group said.
A junta brigadier general sits on the advisory board of ASEAN’s Cybersecurity and Information Center of Excellence and the military has joined cyber threat simulations at Singapore’s Temasek Polytechnic.
“If ASEAN wants to show its commitment to peace, it must respect the voices of Myanmar’s people, who continue to put their lives on the line to courageously resist the military junta for federal democracy,” said Yadanar Maung.
