KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah met his counterpart from Myanmar’s National Unity Government, a shadow administration outlawed by the ruling military junta, in the group’s first open engagement with a Southeast Asian country.
The meeting, disclosed by Saifuddin in a Twitter post, was held on the sidelines of a two-day summit in Washington between the US and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which excluded Myanmar’s leader over a military coup last year.
Myanmar has repeatedly called on countries not to engage with the shadow administration, and other military opponents that the junta has labeled as “terrorists.”
In his Twitter post, Saifuddin said Malaysia “stands ready to work toward restoring peace and democracy in Myanmar” during an informal meeting with Zin Mar Aung, foreign minister of the shadow administration.
“We took the opportunity to exchange views on latest developments in Myanmar, where Minister Zin shared insights as well as challenges faced by NUG, including humanitarian assistance, technical training and education for the Myanmar refugees,” he said.
Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry in a statement, however, denounced reports of engagements in Washington between the US State Department and NUG officials, and said it had sent protest notes to all ASEAN countries and the US asking them to refrain from talking to the opposition government.
The ministry also said it rejected a paragraph contained in a 28-page joint statement released by the US and ASEAN, which had called for the timely implementation of a five-point peace plan agreed to by Myanmar.
The ministry said the language used in the paragraph suggested interference in Myanmar’s domestic affairs and included references to matters within its sovereign jurisdiction, “including unacceptable proposals that go beyond the Five Point Consensus.”