The ASEAN should not stop exerting diplomatic pressure
on the Myanmar junta to return to civilian rule
What can you buy with $4 billion or P224 billion?
More than enough, if you’re an individual with even an outrageously extravagant lifestyle.
But if you’re a middle-income country still trying to recover from more than three years of lockdowns and job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a modest sum that nonetheless can help boost economic activity.
The $4 billion will come from the deep pockets of the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the form of a grant for the national government’s socio-economic agenda and infrastructure projects for this year alone.
This was a commitment made by ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during their recent meeting at the ADB headquarters.
The money will be spent, among others, for the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project, the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, and the Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Project.
In fact, the ADB has increased its financing to the Philippines by fourfold reaching a total US $12.7 billion between 2018 and 2022.
Part of the grant will also go to helping address the country’s vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change due to its exposure to severe weather events
This, the ADB said, will “be a core priority of our assistance going forward.”
During the ADB’s annual meeting in September last year, the financial institution announced its US $14 billion assistance package from 2022 to 2025 to help developing member countries address food security issues.
The ADB was the Philippines’ top source of active Official Development Assistance (ODA) among 20 development partners in 2022, accounting for 34 percent (US$10.74 billion for 31 loans and 28 grants) of the US $31.95 billion of the total active ODA.
From 2010 to 2022, ADB’s annual loan financing for the Philippines averaged US $1.4 billion.
Three loans amounting to US $1.10 billion have been signed with ADB within the first nine months of the Marcos administration.
This goes to show that the ADB, a multilateral financing institution with headquarters in Manila, trusts the national government enough to keep funding for vital infrastructure and social development projects flowing at a constant rate.
ASEAN on Myanmar violence
We’re glad the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in their recent summit in Labuan, Indonesia, called for an end to hostilities in military-ruled Myanmar to allow inclusive dialogue and humanitarian assistance.
Their communiqué read: “We are deeply concerned with ongoing violence in Myanmar and urge the immediate cessation of all forms of violence and the use of force to create a conducive environment for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogues.”
This is a case of better late than never.
Myanmar’s security situation has been deteriorating since its military seized power in a 2021 coup and embarked on a campaign to crush its opponents.
The ASEAN summit took place days after unidentified assailants shot at a convoy carrying ASEAN diplomats and aid workers delivering supplies in western Myanmar, putting into doubt the junta’s willingness to end the violence and ensure safe humanitarian access.
The regional bloc had urged the junta to implement a “five-point peace consensus” in late 2021 that includes ending all hostilities and engaging all stakeholders. It barred the generals from attending high-level meetings until progress is made.
We commend Indonesia for taking a lead role in getting the Myanmar junta to implement the five-point plan.
As chair of ASEAN this year, Indonesia has also been quietly engaging Myanmar’s military, shadow government, and armed ethnic groups to kick-start peace talks.
But no doubt, the ASEAN, which espouses a policy of non-intervention in members’ sovereign affairs, should really take a harder stance against Myanmar.
The military junta appears hell-bent on ignoring worldwide opinion and holding on to power for as long as they can.
It is true keeping Myanmar away from ASEAN meetings unless they shape up and take concrete steps to end military rule makes them exempt from accountability as a full-fledged member of the regional bloc.
The ASEAN should not stop exerting diplomatic pressure on the Myanmar junta to return to civilian rule and allow the duly elected National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi to take their rightful place in the country’s political system.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
