ASEAN walks a tightrope between engaging Myanmar and demanding peace

Manila: Southeast Asian leaders reaffirmed the need to keep engaging with Myanmar while sticking with a plan calling for an immediate end to violence in the war-torn country, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Sunday.

Chairing the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila, Marcos said the 11-member bloc agreed to pursue "constructive and principled engagement" while adhering to its five-point peace plan, ASEAN's framework for responding to the crisis in Myanmar since a 2021 coup.

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The summit is under pressure to ease a five-year ban on Myanmar's military-backed leaders attending high-level meetings, after Thailand and several other members stepped up engagement despite Myanmar's civil war.

The army-backed government wants to normalise ties with ASEAN after its leaders were barred from summits in 2021 for not de-escalating conflict in the wake of the military coup that brought them to power.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, triggering the civil war that the UN estimates has killed 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million.

Coup leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing's military has received support from China, India and Russia. His administration has gained increasing international recognition in recent months, including secret talks with US officials as the Trump administration reverses years of isolation.

Marcos, expressing hope that ASEAN could advance the implementation of the peace plan, said leaders should ask "what more can we do for Myanmar" as the crisis continued to displace families, disrupt communities and affect the country's youth.

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In addition to seeking an end to the fighting, ASEAN's Myanmar framework calls for constructive dialogue among all parties and offers the bloc's mediation and humanitarian assistance.

ASEAN's special envoy on Myanmar, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, said on Saturday there would be "no easing" of ASEAN's approach toward Myanmar, although a review of the five-point plan and various proposals concerning Myanmar's participation remained under discussion and would ultimately be decided by leaders.