MANILA — The Philippines announced Friday that an upcoming gathering of Southeast Asian foreign ministers will take up Myanmar’s devastating civil war and the question of how the regional bloc might restore ties with the country after a five-year freeze.
As the current chair of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines will host Sunday’s meeting in Bangkok — the first face-to-face session with Myanmar’s top diplomat since a military coup in 2021 set off a conflict that led to the ruling generals being barred from ASEAN summits.
That coup, carried out by an army that has governed Myanmar for five of the last six decades, unleashed widespread turmoil. A violent crackdown on protesters spiraled into a full-scale civil war, in which an estimated 100,000 people have lost their lives and millions more have been forced from their homes. The military has faced accusations of committing widespread atrocities, allegations it continues to deny.
Myanmar is now governed by a nominally civilian administration following elections held earlier this year. Former armed forces commander and junta leader Min Aung Hlaing now serves as president.
The Philippine foreign ministry emphasized that Myanmar remains a full member of ASEAN and clarified that Sunday’s session will be informal in nature. It will give Myanmar’s foreign minister an opportunity to brief regional counterparts on conditions inside the country.
According to a statement from the ministry, participants “are expected to exchange views on ASEAN’s engagement with Myanmar, as well as on possible concrete steps in which Myanmar may address concerns on the cessation of violence, constructive dialogue among concerned parties, and humanitarian assistance.”
Min Aung Hlaing has been working to break the deadlock with ASEAN and last week made his first official state visit to a fellow ASEAN member nation. A central reason for Myanmar’s exclusion from the bloc has been his failure to follow through on a “five-point consensus” he agreed to with ASEAN after the coup, which laid out a path toward de-escalation and dialogue between the warring factions.
However, efforts to normalize relations face a new obstacle. Myanmar’s military-aligned parliament has advanced a motion pushing back against that peace plan, labeling it interference in the country’s internal affairs and a breach of ASEAN’s foundational principles.
A lengthy front-page article published Friday in the Global New Light of Myanmar, the military’s official newspaper, reported that lawmakers had backed a resolution urging the government to challenge and review ASEAN’s stance.
The newspaper reported that “lawmakers from both houses largely supported the motion, arguing that ASEAN should reassess its position on Myanmar following political developments and the formation of a new elected government.”
