The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will maintain engagement with Myanmar under its peace plan as it weighs access for Myanmar’s military-backed leaders to senior meetings, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Sunday.
Marcos said the 11-member bloc would pursue “constructive and principled engagement” and continue its five-point plan. The framework calls for the parties to end violence and hold dialogue, and offers ASEAN mediation and humanitarian aid.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, ASEAN’s special envoy on Myanmar, said Saturday the bloc would not ease its approach. Proposals for Myanmar’s participation remain under discussion, she said, with leaders to make the decision. The debate connects Myanmar’s diplomatic standing with ASEAN’s response to the conflict.
Reuters reported that Thailand and several other ASEAN members increased engagement with Myanmar before pressure mounted at the summit to lift a five-year restriction on the country’s military-backed leaders attending senior meetings.
The United Nations estimates Myanmar’s civil war has claimed 100,000 lives and left more than 3.5 million people displaced. The conflict followed the military’s 2021 removal of the elected government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Thailand’s request for Myanmar’s foreign minister to join ASEAN ministerial meetings remains under discussion, and the bloc has not agreed to the proposed participation, EconoTimes previously reported. The Manila summit is scheduled to run through Nov. 17, and leaders are to decide the proposals.