(July 10): Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will meet with their Myanmar counterpart for the first time in five years on Sunday, a step an official said could pave the way for the eventual normalisation of ties between the country and the regional bloc.
Manila’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma Theresa Lazaro will chair the bloc’s informal meeting with Tin Maung Swe in Bangkok, Lazaro’s agency said in a statement on Friday. The meeting is the first in-person engagement between the Asean foreign ministers and Myanmar since the 2021 military coup there.
“They 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 in Myanmar,” it added.
Myanmar has been largely isolated from Asean following the 2021 coup and imprisonment of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Philippines, this year’s Asean chair, has said the group remains guided by its so-called Five-Point Consensus which demands an immediate end to violence, a condition that has limited Myanmar to sending only non-political representatives to the bloc’s gatherings.
Myanmar confirmed the weekend meeting where the nation’s plans to achieve peace will be discussed along with steps to crack down on online scams and illegal drugs, according to Han Win Aung, director general at Myanmar’s foreign ministry in charge of Asean affairs.
Han Win Aung said the meeting would be a “highly constructive step” for Myanmar’s bid to restore relations with the bloc. “I believe that in the near future, we will regain our original role and rights within Asean,” he said.
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Bangkok is hosting it to enhance Asean’s joint efforts on the Five-Point Consensus to support peace and stability in Myanmar, according to Maratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokesperson for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“These meetings represent an important step towards the gradual and principled engagement with Myanmar in order to encourage positive and concrete developments in the country,” Maratee said in a briefing on Friday. “They are informal consultations in nature and do not alter Asean’s established position or decisions regarding the situation Myanmar.”
Apart from the meeting between the Asean foreign ministers and their Myanmar counterpart, there will also be an extended consultation on Myanmar, she said.
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has said Asean leaders would like to see more progress in the military-backed nation even as some regional officials saw the political prisoner amnesties and Suu Kyi’s transfer to house arrest were positive signs from coup chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing.
Manila’s Lazaro, who earlier sought access to Suu Kyi, said last month that she plans to meet with certain ethnic armed groups in Myanmar to find out the situation there and how help can be extended.
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