ASEAN’s Role in the Rohingya Crisis: A Critical Analysis from the Perspective of Bangladesh

Abstract

This study explores ASEAN’s role in the Rohingya Crisis as a regional organization in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is one of the member countries of this Organization, but ASEAN’s collective initiatives on the Rohingya issue are not notable. Instead, it asserts that it has treated the Rohingya crisis as a domestic concern and thus left the matter within Myanmar’s jurisdiction. Consequently, as the findings suggest, few reactions adequately illustrate ASEAN’s regimes protecting their populations. These reactions are understood within the framework of its traditional norms and the ASEAN way, but this approach has not been applied in Myanmar. Instead of invoking the responsibilities to protect, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia prefer a ‘quiet diplomacy approach’ towards the Rohingya crisis. ASEAN allowed for an open consultation, but Myanmar did not pay attention. In turn, Myanmar regarded ASEAN as a trusted interlocutor since Myanmar agreed to discuss and update ASEAN on the Rohingya crisis. Typically, these dialogues were unofficial and low-key. Myanmar's openness towards ASEAN contrasts with its reluctance to talk with Western governments, which used methods of naming and shaming that ran counter to ASEAN's approach. Methodologically, the study involved secondary sources and a qualitative research design with a critical analysis of the Rohingya influx from 2012 to 2018 in Bangladesh. The study recommends motivating peaceful repatriation to their land, Rakhine, by recognizing them as a means of solving these burning issues. Although time is a factor, the authors see it as a sustainable pathway.