MYANMAR has “all the ingredients for civil war”, Cambodia warned ahead of its leader’s visit to the crisis-wracked country.

Myanmar has been in chaos since a coup last year, with more than 1,400 people killed in a crackdown on dissent by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc this year, will visit Myanmar on Friday and Saturday in an effort to defuse the crisis.

But Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn warned the outlook is dire.

“The political and security crises in Myanmar are deepening and have led to (an) economic, health and humanitarian crisis.

“We feel that all the ingredients for civil war are now on the table.

“There are two governments, several armed forces; people are undergoing what they call a civil disobedience movement; and, (there is) guerrilla warfare across the country.”

Prak Sokhonn rejected criticism that Hun Sen’s visit will legitimise the junta, saying that the kingdom’s “immediate attention is on improving the situation in Myanmar”.

Efforts will remain focused on a peace road map and “five-point consensus” agreed on by Asean leaders last year, he added.

He said the visit aims “to pave the way for progress” by “creating a conducive environment for inclusive dialogue and political trust among all parties concerned”.

There has been little sign of progress since the coup.

An Asean special envoy to Myanmar’s visit has been delayed after the junta refused to allow him to meet with ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In response, the bloc excluded the junta leader from a high-level summit in October, a rare rebuke by a group often criticised for being toothless.

Prak Sokhonn said the crisis has bad implications for “regional stability… Asean’s image, credibility (and) unity”.

However, Cambodia is making efforts to allow the junta leader to resume attending meetings of the bloc again, he added. – AFP, January 5, 2022.