Malaysia has to engage Myanmar to achieve incremental progress — Phar Kim Beng

On September 30, Myanmar continues to be a significant diplomatic challenge for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) following the military coup in February 2021. Despite this, Malaysia must not believe that diplomatic efforts have been futile, and should instead maintain consistent, careful, and realistic engagement with Myanmar. The immediate goal should not be a massive settlement, but rather incremental progress.

Myanmar's conflict is too complex and entrenched for Asean to expect comprehensive national reconciliation through a single diplomatic initiative. Instead, the focus should be on identifying areas where measurable progress is possible, such as humanitarian access, localized ceasefires, protection of civilians, refugee management, border security, and suppression of transnational crime.

The Asean Five-Point Consensus should remain the main diplomatic reference, with its objectives of ending violence, providing humanitarian aid, engaging in constructive dialogue, and working with relevant parties still valid.

Diplomacy requires contact, persistence, and communication, even with parties whose actions Asean disagrees with. However, engagement must not be mistaken for endorsement. Dialogue does not automatically grant political legitimacy, nor does diplomatic contact require Malaysia to ignore the need for violence to cease and for Myanmar's people to determine their own political future.

Malaysia needs to focus on incremental diplomacy for incremental progress. This includes increasing humanitarian aid to communities affected by fighting, encouraging temporary and localized ceasefires around hospitals, schools, markets, and densely populated areas, and strengthening arrangements to protect displaced communities. At the same time, Asean should maintain communication channels with Nay Pyi Taw while also engaging opposition forces, ethnic armed organizations, and other key stakeholders.

Each achievement, no matter how small, represents progress in diplomatic efforts. A functioning humanitarian corridor, a local ceasefire, a mechanism against human trafficking, and dialogue between hostile parties are all steps forward. While none of these actions alone constitutes peace, collectively, they can serve as building blocks towards a more stable future.

Malaysia cannot isolate itself from the consequences of Myanmar's instability. Refugee movements, human trafficking, narcotics, cybercrime, and organized scam networks do not recognize national borders. As the conflict continues, the longer Myanmar remains unstable, the greater the danger that its internal disorder will become a permanent regional security problem. The Rohingya issue further emphasizes the importance of sustained engagement.

Malaysia has already endured a significant humanitarian burden due to Myanmar's instability. However, any long-term solution ultimately requires conditions inside Myanmar that allow displaced communities to return voluntarily, safely, and with dignity. Security, citizenship, documentation, livelihoods, and protection against renewed displacement cannot be achieved through diplomatic isolation alone.

Asean's diplomatic approach has traditionally relied on consultation, persistence, diplomatic access, and the gradual creation of political space. While this approach may be slow, years of conflict have demonstrated the limitations of expecting significant political outcomes when the principal actors remain divided over the structure and future of the Myanmar state.

Malaysia should adopt a calibrated strategy that engages the authorities in Nay Pyi Taw without legitimizing their political claims, maintains contact with opposition forces without assuming they represent a single political entity, engages ethnic organizations to address the political aspirations of Myanmar's diverse nationalities, and remains at the center of regional diplomacy.

However, Malaysia must avoid confusing incrementalism with complacency, as incremental progress requires benchmarks.