ASEAN must play key role in resolving Myanmar crisis, Thai PM says

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Monday the regional bloc ASEAN must play a key role in ending the protracted civil war in Myanmar, ahead of a summit of the leaders of the 10-member group in Laos this week.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since February 2021, when its military ousted an elected civilian government, sparking protests that have turned into an armed rebellion against the ruling junta.

"ASEAN must play an important role in bringing peace back to Myanmar as soon as possible," Paetongtarn told an event in Bangkok.

Thailand will work with Malaysia, next year's ASEAN chair, to use diplomatic means to resolve the conflict, she said, underscoring what may be a renewed effort by the bloc to push for a resolution as their leaders gather for an annual summit on Wednesday.

Paetongtarn's predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, told Reuters in April that Myanmar's military junta had been weakened, creating an opening for talks, adding "Maybe it's time to reach out and make a deal".

So far, a peace effort by 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)- known as the Five Point Consensus - has made scant progress since its unveiling in April 2021, despite repeated calls for dialogue.

Myanmar's junta has refused to engage in talks with its rivals, calling them terrorists bent on destroying the country.

The grinding conflict, which has left a third of Myanmar's 55 million people in need humanitarian aid, will be high on the agenda at the Laos gathering.

ASEAN continues to bar the junta leadership from its summits over their failure to comply with the peace plan they had initially agreed to, which has vexed the bloc's most prominent countries.

Last week, ahead of the summit, Indonesia hosted an international meeting involving the United Nations and opponents of Myanmar's military.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Martin Petty)