ON Thailand AND BRICS
Dr. Balakrishnan was even asked to comment on the Myanmar condition and how some ASEAN member states have freely engaged the Burmese military state.  ,
Next December, Thailand hosted a meeting on Myanmar involving the war-torn country’s five neighborhood, including China, Bangladesh and India.
At the meeting, the regime’s foreign secretary Than Swe outlined a political strategy and progress on election arrangements, including a community survey and registration of 53 political parties.
 , Dr Balakrishnan stated that Myanmar’s neighborhood in ASEAN have “greater risks” as they are more exposed to violence, improper activities like drug smuggling and the flow of migrants.  ,
Nevertheless, he stressed that even with various levels of risks, all the member states want Myanmar to reach “national peace”.  ,
” None of us want to interfere with a fellow ASEAN ( member’s ) internal affairs.” So in that regard, the more channels of communication, the more potential market for all the various stakeholders in Myanmar to come up, the better”, he added.  ,
Since February 2021, Myanmar has experienced upheaval since its military seized power and ousted a democratically elected government, causing protests and putting the junta at odds with its leadership.
Since the defense revolt, more than 5, 000 residents have been killed and over 3.3 million displaced, according to a United Nations report in September 2024.
Dr. Balakrishnan was also questioned about Singapore’s concern over some ASEAN member states ‘ efforts to develop closer relationships with the BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa ) cluster of emerging markets.  ,
BRICS, established in 2009, first included Brazil, Russia, India, and China, while South Africa joined a year later. It has since expanded to encompass Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia became the first Southeast Asian nation to fully join the group earlier this month.