PH, Singapore push for peaceful resolution of Myanmar conflict

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam met in Manila to strengthen bilateral relations. (File Photo: Presidential Communications Office/Facebook)

MANILA – The Philippines and Singapore on Thursday pushed for the peaceful resolution of the continued unrest in their Southeast Asian neighbor Myanmar.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam met in Manila to strengthen bilateral relations.

During their meeting, the two leaders also discussed regional issues such as the Myanmar crisis.

According to Marcos, he and his Singaporean counterpart, along with the rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed that a peaceful resolution is “more urgent now than ever before.”

“As fellow founding member states of ASEAN, the Philippines and Singapore have discussed and shared our concerns on [the] developments in Myanmar, which had undoubtedly affected both Singaporeans and Filipinos alike,” Marcos said after his meeting with Tharman.

“We have continued to speak on this in all the ASEAN fora and we have all come to the consensus that a peaceful solution, as prescribed under ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus, is more urgent now than ever before,” he added.

The five-point consensus serves as ASEAN’s guidance in responding to the Myanmar crisis, which calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar; exercise of utmost restraint from all parties; a constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution; and humanitarian assistance as priorities.

The United Nations earlier said human rights situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate and is now “in freefall” three years after the military deposed its elected government.

Tharman is in Manila for a three-day visit upon the invitation of Marcos to further strengthen the two countries’ over five-decade-old ties.