By DPA
Manila : The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)said Monday it would pursue constructive engagement with Myanmar but expressed concern over the slow implementation of democratic reforms in the military-ruled country.
"We recognised the fact that Myanmar has tried to address the many and complex challenges she is facing," the ASEAN foreign ministers said in a joint communiqué at the end of their annual meeting held here.
"We reaffirmed our commitment to remain constructively engaged in Myanmar as part of building one caring and sharing regional community together," they added.
But the ministers reiterated their unhappiness over the slow progress in Myanmar's efforts to return to democracy and appealed to the Yangon junta to show "tangible progress."
"We expressed concern on the pace of the national reconciliation process and urged Myanmar to show tangible progress that would lead to a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future," the joint communiqué said.
During an informal meeting late Sunday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said he and his co-ministers expressed to their Myanmar counterpart their impatience over the slow process of reforms.
Romulo said they reminded Myanmar that when it was accepted into the regional grouping 10 years ago, the junta promised to return the country to democracy.
Analysts said the stature of ASEAN as a regional grouping has been greatly diminished by Myanmar's continued non-compliance with its promise of democratic reforms.
The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.