ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meet Myanmar FM for First Time in 5 Years, Push for Progress on Peace Plan

Senior diplomats from Thailand and the Philippines said that at a meeting held in Bangkok on the 12th, Southeast Asian foreign ministers and representatives urged Myanmar’s foreign minister to make “concrete” progress on the stalled ASEAN peace plan for the country. However, there was no clear progress on key issues such as how to implement the ‘Five-Point Consensus’, whether to set a timeline, or when the ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar would be able to meet detained former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The informal meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers was held in Bangkok that day, chaired by the rotating ASEAN chair, the Philippines. This was also the first face-to-face meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and Myanmar's foreign minister since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, a member state.

According to AFP, since Myanmar’s military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government more than five years ago, triggering civil war, the country has been diplomatically marginalized within ASEAN.

After a tightly restricted election in April this year, the head of the military government, Min Aung Hlaing, assumed the role of civilian president, with neighboring Thailand leading efforts to normalize relations.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak said at a press conference on the 12th that the Thai government supports “targeted engagement” with Myanmar, in hopes of implementing ASEAN’s ‘Five-Point Consensus’, a plan aimed at ending the war between the military, pro-democracy resistance, and minority armed groups.

But he said this requires Myanmar to respond to the concerns of both ASEAN and the international community.

Sihasak said: “We have some concrete expectations regarding humanitarian aid, reducing violence, especially that against civilians, and promoting inclusive political dialogue.”

He urged further release of political prisoners and called for further positive progress regarding the 81-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi. Since the 2021 military coup that ousted her elected government, Aung San Suu Kyi has been in detention and has not been seen publicly since.

Sihasak said: “We hope to see progress, step by step.”

Myanmar Parliament Criticizes ASEAN for Interfering in Internal Affairs

However, ASEAN’s initiative to end Myanmar’s civil war through dialogue among all parties has made little progress.

Official media “The Global New Light of Myanmar” reported that Myanmar legislators sharply criticized ASEAN’s plan in parliament last week, calling for its “review and reconsideration.”

According to the report, they argued the plan “undermined Myanmar’s equal status within ASEAN and was inconsistent with the bloc’s fundamental principle of non-interference in member states’ internal affairs.”

Nevertheless, Philippine Foreign Minister Lazaro said that she and ASEAN both support the plan.

Lazaro, also ASEAN chair's special envoy for Myanmar, told reporters that although there is still no set timetable, foreign ministers at the Bangkok meeting hope Myanmar can use this “opportunity to achieve concrete and demonstrable progress or benchmarks on the core points of the Five-Point Consensus.”

She said, “ASEAN calls for concrete actions to stop hostilities.”

Myanmar and other ASEAN member states reached a ‘Five-Point Consensus’ in 2021, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and dialogue among all parties mediated by an ASEAN special envoy.

However, analysts say consensus among ASEAN member states is weakening, with some, led by Bangkok, willing to use minor concessions to bring Myanmar back on track, while others maintain a more hard-line stance.

Foreign ministers of Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Brunei, and Laos attended, while Cambodia did not send a representative and Malaysia was represented by the chief secretary of government.

In addition, Lazaro said Myanmar’s foreign minister informed ASEAN ministers that Aung San Suu Kyi is currently in good health and that authorities will continue to look after her.

According to Reuters, on the 12th Lazaro told reporters that Myanmar’s foreign minister said at the meeting that Aung San Suu Kyi “is like a sister to us, so we will take care of her.”

The update did not specify the current location where Aung San Suu Kyi is being held, nor did it provide further details about her health.