The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers issued a statement on Thursday, expressing deep concern for the wellbeing of civilians in the border regions of Myanmar and Thailand. The statement specifically mentioned the areas of Myawaddy, Kayin State and Rakhine State, and urged an immediate ceasefire in the region.

The ASEAN called upon all parties to “exercise utmost restraint, to uphold international humanitarian law, and to take all the necessary measures to defuse tensions and to ensure the protection and safety of all civilians, including foreign nationals and citizens of ASEAN Member States.” The foreign ministers stated that they will support the continued efforts of ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and Thailand’s humanitarian cross-border initiative to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in Myanmar in line with the Five-Point Consensus  proposed by the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in 2021. The regional bloc also called for humanitarian talks and national dialogues to find a “durable and comprehensive political solution.”

Myanmar has been under military rule since the junta overthrew the previous democratically elected government in 2021. Last week, fighting in Myanmar escalated as the military battling the Karen National Union (KNU), a union of the Karen ethnic minority and the resistance forces, in the area of Myawaddy. The area is on the border with Thailand and also Myanmar’s most active trade crossing with Thailand. The junta was forced to withdraw troops from the area due to its loss on the battlefield.

The conflict in Myanmar has deprived local communities of basic needs and access to essential services. According to a UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report, since the military takeover, 2.8 million people in Myanmar have been displaced. As such, the escalation of fighting at the border area of Myawaddy has also alarmed Thai officials. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said during a parliamentary session on April 4 that about 77,000 people had fled Myanmar, who are now spread across the nine shelters provided by the Thai Foreign Ministry. In the event of increased violence, Thailand is prepared to accommodate approximately 100,000 more people to provide humanitarian aid.

Since the military takeover in 2021, the ASEAN has raised a Five-Point Consensus introducing a peace resolution plan. However, there has been little progress made on its implementation. Lawmakers from Southeast Asia therefore call on the ASEAN to acknowledge that the consensus “has failed miserably” and that the Myanmar junta “should not to be trusted to fulfill the obligations outlined in the proposed agreement.”