Kuala Lampur, Oct. 8 -- Myanmar has reached a strategic impasse.

Neither the military authorities in Naypyidaw nor the numerous armed resistance movements opposing them have demonstrated the ability to produce a durable political settlement.

The country remains trapped in a prolonged conflict in which military advances have not necessarily translated into political legitimacy, while territorial resistance has not produced a coherent alternative national government.

For Asean, this situation demands a fundamental reassessment of its diplomatic approach.

Firm engagement with General Min Aung Hlaing and the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's armed forces, is no longer merely one diplomatic option among many.

It has become a strategic necessity.

This ...