As the dust settles on the US-Asean Summit in Washington, a clear path forward is emerging for Asean on Myanmar. The 10-member regional bloc finally took steps towards resolving Myanmar's junta-made crisis when Malaysia's foreign minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, held an informal meeting with his counterpart from Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG), and proposed to Asean that it do the same. But with the situation inside Myanmar now a massive humanitarian emergency, its people cannot wait any longer for Asean to act. Asean must call for a massive global humanitarian response to the crisis if it has any hope of saving its credibility.
The timing is critical for Asean and the people of Myanmar. Their country has been under siege from the military junta for more than 15 months and is now a humanitarian catastrophe. The military has caused the total number of people in need of humanitarian assistance inside Myanmar to reach an estimated 14 million, almost three times the number of those who have fled the war in Ukraine.
The intensity of violence outstrips that of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and has forced more than half a million people to flee their homes. Most are seeking refuge from the junta's attacks in the vast territories along Myanmar's borders held by Ethnic Revolutionary Organisations (EROs) and newly formed People's Defence Forces (PDFs) allied to the NUG.
